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A   BOOK   OV   PROI-OrSD   Sl( ,.\  I !■  IC.  I XCI: 

PSYCHOTHERAPY 

By   HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

M.D.,  PH.D.,  LITT.D.,  LL.l). 

PioJrssoiofPsyc/iolo^^y  in  Harvard  i'uiveysity 

8■^■(^   $2.00   net.      Hy    mail,   $2.20. 

A  masterly  (lisciis.sit)n,  written  in  simple  un- 
lechnical  language,  of  the  Psychological 
llasis  of  Psychotherapy,  its  Methods,  Re- 
sults and  Place  in  Civilization.  It  is  the 
second  l)i)ok  in  a  series  which  Prof.  Miin- 
slerhirg  is  writing  "to  discuss  for  a  wider 
l)ul>lic  the  practical  applications  of  modern 
psychology."  It  deals  with  the  relation  of 
psychology    to    medicine.  1 

"Und(ni1)le(!ly    the    most   important    publi  _ 
tion   of   the   year." — Pliila.    Public   Ledger. \ 

"On  the  whole,  the  best  popular  presentatj  1 
the  sul)ject  has  ever  had  in  English."— .-/»;c  ^ 
(fin  .hninial  of  J'syclioloiiy. 

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li'r    of    the    newest     and     most     wonderfid 
clearix   and  effccti\i'Iy  liefore  an  interested  inihlic."- — M iiiiira[>olis 


EUSAPIA  PALLADINO 

AND   HER  PHENOMENA 
Bt  HEREWARD  CARRINGTON 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

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•^■^^ 


/^Aa:^!!^i^x-t:Jo^Z^Z^ 


Eusapia  Palladino 

AND  HER  PHENOMENA 


BY 


HEREWARD   CARRINGTON 

AUTHOR  OF 
"THK  PHYBXCAL  phenomena  of  BPIBITUALI8M," 

"vitality,  fasting  and  nutbition," 

"the  coming  science,"  "HINDU 

magic,"  etc. 


^ 


NEW   YORK 
B.   W.    DODGE   &   COMPANY 

1909 


*J  h^  O  iQ   J 


Copyright,  1909,  by 
B.  W.   DODGE  &  COMPANY 


Entered  in  Stationers'  Hall,  London 
All  Right*  Reserved 


Priutod  in  the  United  States  ot  America 


\  '  a 


THIS  BOOK 

M  LOVINGLY   DEDICATED 

TO  THE  MEMOEY  OF   MY  FATHER 

B.  C.  CAREINGTON,  F.E.G.S.,  F.B.A.S.,  F.R.S.L. 

A8  A  TOKEN  OF  MY  KE8PKCT  AND  ESTEEM 

FOR  HIS  UNRECOGNIZED 

GENIUS 


lereward   Carrington,  a  firm    believer  in  Mme.  Palladino  and 
her  manager  on  her  recent  visit  to  America 


PREFACE 

While  much  has  been  written  in  France  and  Italy  con- 
cerning the  remarkable  woman  who  forms  the  subject  of 
this  book,  but  little  has  appeared  either  in  England  or 
America — with  the  exception  of  M.  Flammarion's  work, 
Mysterious  Psychic  Forces,  and  a  series  of  articles  that  have 
appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  English  edition  of  the 
Annals  of  Psychical  Science.    Yet  the  case  is  one  of  the  most 

t       remarkable  that  has  come  to  the  attention  of  the  scientific 

*  world  for  many  years — since  we  are  concerned,  apparently, 
with  movements  of  physical  objects  without  contact,  and 
even  far  more  startling  phenomena — contrary  to  the  known 
laws  of  physics  and  physiology. 

In  the  following  book  I  propose  to  lay  before  the  reader 

'O  a  summary  of  all  the  historic  evidence  available,  together 
with  a  detailed  record  of  our  own  experiments  with  this 
medium,  conducted  in  Naples,  in  November  and  December, 
1908;  a  complete  resume  of  every  theory  that  has  been  ad- 

^"^  vanced  to  date — with  a  provisional  hypothesis  of  my  own ; 
and  then  to  discuss  at  some  length  the  biological  and  psy- 
chological peculiarities  of  the  case — from  the  point  of  view 
of  one  who  assumes,  on  the  strength  of  the  existing  testi- 
mony, that  the  facts  are  established. 

One  forms  a  very  different  opinion  of  Eusapia's  seances 
before  and  after  he  has  obtained  personal  sittings.  Before, 
although  I  was  vastly  impressed  with  the  cumulative  evi- 


Cv? 


\. 


Vlll 


Preface 


dence,  I  was  far  from  being  irrevocably  convinced — an  atti- 
tude which  I  occupy  to-day.  I  had  given  a  rapid  survey  of 
the  Palladino  case  in  one  of  my  previous  books,  The  Physi- 
cal Phenomena  of  Spiritualism,  saying  in  part: 

"And  thus  the  matter  stands :  One  half  the  world  is  con- 
vinced that  Eusapia  is  a  fraud,  and  the  other  half  is  con- 
vinced that  the  phenomena  witnessed  in  her  presence  are 
genuine!  What  the  ultimate  verdict  will  be  it  is  hard  to 
foresee;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  case,  as  it  stands,  is  not 
convincing  to  the  scientific  world,  and  fresh  evidence  must 
be  forthcoming  if  the  case  is  ever  to  be  decided  in  her  favor. 
If  Eusapia  possesses  genuine  mediumistic  gifts,  it  ought  only 
to  be  a  matter  of  time  and  sufficiently  careful  experimenting 
in  order  to  establish  that  fact." 

Professor  Morselli  took  occasion  to  make  this  the  text 
of  a  lengthy  reply  to  my  book  (appearing  in  the  Annals  of 
Psychical  Science,  August-September,  1908),  based  on  his 
seances  with  Eusapia,  in  which  he  said: 

"I  hope  and  believe  that  my  voluminous  work  on  Palla- 
dino's  spiritism  will  give  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  dis- 
tinguished American  psychist,  who  is  so  severe  on  physical 
mediumship,  and  only  accepts  as  valid,  in  general,  the  bygone 
categories  of  the  historical  phenomena  of  spiritism.  He  is 
guided  by  the  preconceived  idea  that  in  the  earlier  times, 
from  the  Fox  Sisters  to  Home,  the  physical  phenomena  were 
more  authentic,  because  then  the  mediums  did  not  copy  one 
another  and  mediumship  was  confined  to  the  spontaneous 
revelation  of  new  biopsychical  forces,  without  the  interven- 
tion of  mimicry.  .  .  . 

"Now  it  is  hazardous  to  express  judgments  on  a  powerful 
but  variable  medium  like  Eusapia  on  such  slight  documentary 
evidence;  but  Mr.  Carrington,  like  all  the  English  and 
American  psychists,  is  still  under  the  impression  received 
from  the  check  at  Cambridge,  caused  by  an  excess  of  rigidity 


Preface  ix 

in  the  interpretation  of  the  movements  of  the  medium's  hands 
and  feet.  We  have  the  obsession  of  tricker}^  by  the  substi- 
tution of  one  hand  for  the  other,  according  to  the  formal 
accusation  made  by  E.  Torelli-Viollier  against  Palladino  in 
1892,  at  the  time  of  the  celebrated  experiments  in  Milan, 
at  the  house  of  M.  E.  Finzi.  And  in  reality,  in  America 
also,  where  the  conjuring  ability  of  mediums  has  reached 
the  highest  degree,  the  trick  of  the  freeing  of  one  hand  from 
the  chain  of  controllers  is  practised  every  day  by  charlatan 
mediums,  w^ho  are  very  numerous  there.  I  append  two  very 
significant  illustrations  which  Mr.  Carrington  has  inserted 
in  his  book,  .  .  .  which  show  very  plainly  the  method  of 
deception  used  by  mediums  for  evading  the  surveillance  of 
the  controllers  to  right  and  left;  with  the  freed  hand  they 
are  able  to  produce  touchings,  raps,  noises,  slight  move- 
ments of  objects,  apports,  etc.  .  .  . 

"Mr.  Carrington,  whom  I  still  quote  for  precaution,  for 
he  is  not  only  a  firm  believer  in  immortality,  but  also  a 
psychist  of  authority,  assumes  an  attitude  of  extreme  distrust 
when  he  says: 

"  'It  is  not  only  probable,  but  certain,  that  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  modern  occult  phenomena  are  fraudulent.  I  am 
disposed  to  believe  that  fully  ninety-eight  per  cent,  of  the 
phenomena,  both  mental  and  physical,  are  fraudulently  pro- 
duced. .  .  .' 

"No  critic  or  skeptic,  were  it  Dr.  Hodgson  returned  to 
earth,  could  ever  convince  me  that,  in  a  long  series  of  seances 
with  Eusapia,  and  especially  in  the  last  ones  of  1906-7,  I 
had  only  seen,  in  all,  tivo  genuine  phenomena  in  every  hun- 
dred! This  is  my  opinion,  and  I  live  in  this  confidence 
toward  myself  and  my  fellow-investigators,  notwithstanding 
all  that  Carrington  writes  about  Eusapia  Palladino.  .  .  ." 

This  will,  I  trust,  serve  to  show  the  reader  that  I  did  not 
go  to  Eusapla's  seances  any  too  ready  to  be  convinced ;  and 
the  fact  that  I  was  so  convinced  (this  being  the  first  case 
of  genuine  physical  mediumship  I  had  ever  seen  during  ten 


X  Preface 

years  continuous  investigation)  proves,  it  seems  to  me,  that 
the  severest  skeptics  are  likely  to  become  converted  if  they 
would  but  deign  to  stop  criticising  the  reports  and  sittings 
of  others,  and  go  and  have  sittings  themselves.  Only  in 
that  manner  can  one's  mental  attitude  be  changed,  and  the 
genuine  nature  of  the  facts  be  forced  upon  one — as  they  were 
iorced  upon  me. 

In  spite  of  my  conviction,  however,  I  wish  to  say  that  I 
am  just  as  skeptical  as  ever  of  all  other  professional  mediums; 
and  still  think  that  as  large  a  percentage  of  fraud  exists  as 
when  I  wrote  the  above  passage.  Eusapia  Is  genuine;  but 
she  Is,  so  far  as  I  know,  almost  unique;  and  I  shall  believe  in 
the  genuineness  of  none  other,  until  they  have  submitted 
their  mediumship  and  their  phenomena  to  tests  similar  to 
those  Imposed  upon  Eusapia.  It  Is  very  true  that,  granting 
that  her  seances  are  genuine,  it  is  highly  probable  that  many 
others  are  genuine  also — only  the  evidence  does  not  prove 
it.  However,  until  phenomena  are  produced  under  condi- 
tions which  preclude  the  possibility  of  fraud,  it  is  useless 
to  speculate  as  to  whether  they  are  genuine  or  not.  Of 
course  It  Is  possible  that  phenomena  only  occur  under  condi- 
tions which  render  fraud  possible;  but  if  that  be  the  case, 
it  is  useless  to  continue  the  investigation,  since  nothing  will 
ever  be  proved.  We  should  always  have  to  assume  that 
fraud  was  the  real  explanation  of  the  facts  so  long  as  it 
was  possibly  operative. 

In  our  own  seances,  we  (my  fellow-investigators  and  my- 
self) felt  that  we  had  obtained  phenomena  under  conditions 
that  absolutely  precluded  fraud ;  we  were  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion, in  consequence,  that  genuine  phenomena  occurred; 
and,  that  being  the  case,  they  should  be  studied  by  scientists 
— not  with  the  object  of  detecting  trickery,  but  in  the  hop€ 


Preface 


XI 


of  discovering  the  hidden  causes  and  laws  of  certain  unknown 
and  as  yet  unrecognized  biological  phenomena.  Of  course 
each  investigator  must,  unfortunately,  be  convinced  in  turn 
before  he  can  approach  the  case  from  that  point  of  view. 
The  consequence  is  that  years  of  valuable  time  have  been 
consumed  in  attempts  to  establish  the  facts;  and,  by  the 
time  they  are  accepted  by  the  skeptical  world,  it  is  probable 
that  Eusapia  will  have  died,  and  that  we  shall  have  to  await 
the  advent  of  another  equally  gifted  medium  before  we  can 
study  the  significance  of  the  phenomena  in  the  spirit  in  which 
they  should  be  approached! 

I  think  I  ought  to  say  in  conclusion  that,  although  this 
book  represents  my  own  opinions  concerning  these  phenom- 
ena— for  which  I  alone  am  responsible — the  task  of  estab- 
lishing the  facts  was  equally  shared  by  my  colleagues,  the 
Hon.  Everard  Feilding,  and  Mr.  W.  W.  Baggally,  to  whom 
I  wish  to  express  my  sincerest  thanks  and  appreciation  for 
their  cooperation  and  support,  and  to  whom  credit  is  equally 
due,  for  whatever  certitude  has  been  reached  regarding  the 
existence  of  these  preternormal  events.  Only  by  their  ex- 
haustive and  painstaking  investigations  and  by  their  sympa- 
thetic cooperation  has  the  issuance  of  this  book  been  rendered 
possible. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  thanks,  also,  to  the  English 
Society  for  Psychical  Research,  for  their  permission  to  quote 
extended  passages  from  our  official  Report  upon  Eusapia — 
which  originally  appeared  in  the  S.  P.  R.  Proceedings:  also 
to  the  editor  of  The  Annals  of  Psychical  Science,  for  permis- 
sion to  quote  from  the  valuable  collection  of  material  upon 
Eusapia's  mediumship  that  has  appeared  in  that  journal. 

I  also  wish  to  acknowledge,  in  this  place,  my  indebtedness 
to  all  those  investigators  of  Eusapia  whose  records  have  been 


Xll 


Preface 


utilized  in  the  compilation  of  this  book;  and  particularly 
to  those  eminent  men  of  science  whose  courageous  champion- 
ing of  an  unpopular  cause  has  paved  the  way  for  this  investi- 
gation. 

H.  C. 


CONTENTS 

PACK 

Preface vii 

CHAPTER 

I.    The  Place  of  Eusapia  Palladino  in  the  History 

OF  Modern  Spiritualism i 

11.     Biographical  Sketch 19 

III.    Historical  Resume  of  the  Palladino  Case 28 

§     I.  Professor  Lombroso's  Conversion — 1891. 

§     2.  The  Report  of  the  Milan  Commission — 1892. 

§    3.  Experiments   at   Naples    and    at   St.  Peters- 
burg—1893. 

§    4.  Experiments  at  Rome — 1893-94. 

§    5.  Experiments  at  Warsaw — 1893-94. 

§     6.  Experiments  at  the  ile  Roubaud — 1894. 

§     7.  Experiments  at  Cambridge — 1895. 

§    8.  Experiments  at  L'Agnelas — 1895. 

§     9.  Experiments    at  Naples — 1895. 

§  10.  Experiments   at  Tremezzo,  Auteuil,   and   at 
Choisy-Yvrac — 1896. 

§  II.  Experiments  at  Naples — 1897. 

§  12.  Experiments  at  Montfort-l'Amaury — 1897. 

§  13.  Experiments  at  Paris — 1898. 

§  14.  Experiments  at  Genoa — 1901. 

§  15.  Experiments    at    Palermo — 1902;    at    Rome 
and  at  Paris — 1905. 

§  16.  Experiments  at  Genoa — 1906-07. 

§  17.  Experiments  at  Turin  (Lombroso) — 1907. 
xiii 


xiv  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

§  1 8.  Experiments  at  Turin  (Foa,  etc.) — 1907. 
§  19.  Experiments  at  Naples — 1907. 
§  20.  Report  of  a  Seance  held  in  Naples — 1908. 
§  21.  Report  of  the  Psychological  Institute  (Paris) 

— 1908. 
§  22.  Miscellaneous     Cases     Illustrative     of    the 

Phenomena. 
IV.    Personal    Experiments    with    Eusapia — Naples, 

1908 152 

Seance    I,  November  21. 
Seance    2,  November  23. 
Seance    3,  November  26. 
Seance    4,  November  29. 
Seance    5,  December  z. 
Seance    6,  December  4. 
Seance    7,  December  7. 
Seance    8,  December  10. 
Seance    9,  December  13. 
Seance  10,  December  15. 
Seance  11,  December  19. 
V.    Resume  of  Theories  Advanced  to  Explain  these 

Phenomena 240 

VI.    My  Own  Hypothesis  to  Account  for  the  Facts.     283 
VII.    Biological  and  Psychological  Considerations.     302 

Appendix 339 

Index 349 


EUSAPIA    PALLADINO 


CHAPTER   I 

THE    PLACE    OF    EUSAPIA    PALLADINO    IN    THE    HISTORY    OF 
MODERN    SPIRITUALISM 

Eusapia  Palladino/  the  Italian  medium  who  forms  the 
'  subject  of  this  book,  occupies  a  unique  place  in  the  history 
!  of  Spiritualism.  No  other  medium,  producing  "physical  phe- 
;  nomena,"  has  been  studied  with  so  much  care,  for  so  long  a 
period,  and  by  so  many  scientific  men,  as  she.  The  case 
most  nearly  resembling  it  is  that  of  Mrs.  Piper — and  she 
is  not  a  medium  for  the  production  of  physical  phenomena, 
but  is  a  trance  medium,  solely,  and  nothing  has  ever  oc- 
curred in  her  presence  resembling  the  phenomena  asserted 
to  have  taken  place  in  the  presence  of  Eusapia  Palladino. 
Mrs.  Piper  has  been  studied  continuously,  by  men  of  scien- 
tific repute,  for  some  twenty-five  years  (since  1885) — in* 
eluding  some  of  the  leading  scientists  of  England,  France 
and  America;  but  the  investigation  was  left  for  the  most 
part  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Hodgson,  and  the  men  and  women 
who  investigated  her  scientifically  might  be  counted  on  the 
two  hands.  Further,  as  I  have  said  before,  there  is  no  re- 
semblance whatever  between  the  types  of  phenomena  wit- 

'  Mme.  Palladino  told  me  personally  that  she  spells  her  name  with  two,  Ts," 
contrary  to  the  all  but  universal  custom. — H.  C. 

I 


2  Eusapia  Palladino 

nessed  through  the  mediumship  of  the  two  mediums.  Mrs. 
Piper  merely  sits  at  a  table,  and,  while  conversing,  passes 
into  a  trance,  in  which  state  she  remains  for  some  two  hours. 
During  that  period,  her  hand  writes  out  certain  messages 
automatically — ^which  are  read  at  the  time  by  the  sitter.  It 
is  all  done  openly,  and  in  the  light.  In  her  case,  there  is 
no  mystery;  no  dark  seances;  no  physical  phenomena;  every- 
thing is  perfectly  clear  and  open,  so  far  as  the  actual  produc- 
tion of  the  phenomena  is  concerned.  The  whole  point  of 
interest,  in  her  case,  is  the  content  of  the  written  message. 
Does  it  or  does  it  not  contain  any  facts  unknown  to  the 
medium,  that  are  apparently  gained  supernormally  ?  That 
is  the  problem,  in  her  case.  It  is  a  mental  problem;  not 
a  physical  one.  The  phenomena  are  mental  or  psychologi- 
cal, and  not  physical.  The  problems  to  be  solved  are,  it  will 
be  seen,  of  a  very  different  order  from  any  that  occur  in 
the  physical  world. 

In  the  case  of  Eusapia  Palladino,  on  the  other  hand,  every- 
thing is  as  different  as  possible.  Here,  the  phenomena  are 
almost  entirely  physical  in  their  character,  and  very  rarely 
are  mental  or  psychological  phenomena  obtained. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  understand  the  case  which  we 
are  to  discuss,  it  will  be  necessary,  first  of  all,  to  give  a  brief 
outline  of  what  happens  at  these  seances,  so  that  the  phe- 
nomena which  take  place  at  these  sittings  may  be  familiar 
to  him. 

Eusapia  Palladino  is  a  "physical  medium" — that  is  to 
say,  physical  phenomena  occur  in  her  presence,  and  mental 
or  intellectual  manifestations — such  as  are  usually  seen  in 
the  presence  of  trance  mediums — are  missing.  Tables  and 
chairs  move  about  the  room  of  their  own  accord,  untouched 
by  visible  hands;  the  table  around  which  the  sitters  are  seated, 


Eusapia  Palladino  3 

rocks  violently,  and  finally  goes  completely  into  the  air,  con- 
trary to  the  law  of  gravitation.  Lights  are  seen  in  various 
parts  of  the  room ;  musical  instruments  are  played,  no  hand 
touching  them;  hands  and  faces  appear — not  belonging  to 
any  member  of  the  circle,  or  to  the  medium;  and  various 
other  phenomena  of  a  kindred  nature  occur,  quite  inexpli- 
cable by  any  of  the  known  laws  of  physical  science.  The 
above  list  will  at  least  serve  to  show  the  general  character 
of  the  phenomena  observed  in  the  presence  of  this  medium. 

Of  course  the  most  obvious  explanation  of  the  facts  is  that 
the  medium  succeeds  in  some  manner  in  producing  the  phe- 
nomena by  fraudulent  means;  that  she  succeeds,  e.g.,  in 
freeing  one  hand,  and  producing  the  touchlngs,  playing  upon 
the  various  musical  instruments,  lifting  the  table,  etc,  unseen 
by  the  sitters.  That  is  the  most  natural  explanation,  and 
its  possibility  we  should  certainly  have  to  eliminate  before 
we  could  accept  the  facts  as  genuine.  So  much  fraud  has 
existed  in  the  past,  in  connection  with  the  physical  phe- 
nomena of  spiritualism,  that  we  should  have  to  take  the 
greatest  precautions  that  the  mediums  could  not  by  any 
artifice  produce  the  results  seen  by  any  normal  means,  or 
by  any  process  of  trickery.  That  is  the  obvious  problem 
which  all  investigators  of  this  medium's  powers  have  been 
called  upon  to  face,  and  which  they  have  endeavored  to  over- 
come by  imposing  test  after  test,  and  obtaining  phenomena 
under  more  and  more  stringent  conditions,  which  precluded 
all  possibility  of  fraud. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  investigators  of  Eusapia 
have  been  blind  to  the  possibility  of  fraud  in  her  case.  On 
the  contrary,  they  have  been  on  the  incessant  watch  for  it; 
and  have  frequently  detected  it  in  operation.  If  fraud  had 
never  been  detected,  the  problem  would  be  a  comparatively 


4  Eusapia  Palladino 

simple  one;  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  well  known  that  this 
medium  will  resort  to  trickery  whenever  she  can — sometimes 
in  a  normal  state,  sometimes  in  a  state  of  semi-trance. 

I  have  said  before  that  Eusapia  Palladino  holds  almost 
a  unique  place  in  the  history  of  spiritualism,  and  for  several 
reasons.  The  chief  reason  is  this :  That  in  her  may  now  be 
said  to  culminate  and  focus  the  whole  evidential  case  for  the 
physical  phenomena  of  spiritualism.  If  it  could  be  shown 
that — in  spite  of  all  these  years  of  work,  in  spite  of  the 
elaborate  precautions  taken,  in  spite  of  the  testimony  of  the 
numerous  scientific  men  who  have  carefully  investigated  her, 
and  brought  In  favorable  reports — her  performances  were 
fraudulent  throughout,  and  that  nothing  but  fraud  entered 
into  the  production  of  these  phenomena — then  the  whole  case 
for  the  physical  phenomena  would  be  ruined — utterly,  irre- 
trievably ruined.^  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  becomes  evi- 
dent that  fraud  will  not  cover  all  the  facts,  and  that  genuine 
phenomena  do  occur  in  her  presence — phenomena  as  yet  in- 
explicable by  science — then  it  will  be  proportionately  more 
probable  that  many  of  the  historic  cases  were  genuine  also; 
that  the  same  phenomena  occurred  in  other  cases,  but  not 
so  frequently,  or  under  such  good  test  conditions  as  those 
reported  to  occur  in  this  case.  The  theoretical  possibility 
of  the  facts  having  once  been  established,  it  does  not  neces- 

*  This  statement  may  be  questioned,  but  it  is,  I  think,  valid  for  this  reason: 
The  phenomena  occurring  in  the  presence  of  this  medium  have  been  studied  by 
more  scientific  men,  for  a  greater  period  of  time,  in  a  more  careful  manner,  and 
with  greater  precautions  against  fraud,  than  any  other  medium  in  the  history 
of  the  subject.  If,  then,  in  spite  of  all  this,  it  were  proved  that  fraud  covered 
and  explained  all  the  facts,  such  doubt  would  be  thrown  upon  the  value  of  human 
testimony — so  impossible  would  it  obviously  be  to  guard  against  fraud — that 
no  amount  of  testimony  for  any  other  phenomena  of  the  sort  would  be  tolerated 
or  considered  for  a  moment.  This  may  be  both  wrong  and  arrogant,  but  the 
case  would  be  hopelessly  lost,  I  am  assured.  So  far  as  the  scientific  world  is 
concerned,  it  could  never  again  be  reconverted  after  such  a  crushing  blow. 


Eusapia  Palladino  ^ 

sitate  much  credulity  to  imagine  that  the  same  phenomena 
took  place  many  times  in  the  past,  in  the  presence  of  lesser 
and  "weaker"  mediums.  Thus,  Eusapia  Palladino  forms  a 
"wedge,"  as  it  were,  that  might  be  driven  home,  perhaps — 
opening  the  way  for  the  acceptance  of  the  theoretical  possi- 
bility of  the  older  facts,  and  for  the  actual  occurrence  of 
many  historic  phenomena.  She  is,  in  fact,  the  crux,  the  pivot 
upon  which  the  whole  case  for  the  physical  phenomena  turns. 
Upon  her,  upon  the  proof  or  disproof  of  her  claims,  rests 
one  of  the  most  stupendous  crises  in  the  history  of  science. 

Thus,  in  this  medium  may  be  said  to  rest  the  case  for  phy- 
sical phenomena — as  the  case  for  the  mental  phenomena  rests 
with  Mrs.  Piper.  These  two  mediums  are  both  representa- 
tives, in  a  way,  of  their  particular  class  of  phenomena — the 
physical  and  the  mental ;  and  a  very  similar  problem  con- 
fronts us  in  the  two  cases.  In  the  Piper  case,  if  it  could  be 
shown,  now  or  in  after  years,  that  subliminal  faculty  and 
telepathy,  or  other  supernormal  powers  are  sufficient  to  ex- 
plain the  facts  (or  even  some  more  normal  and  as  yet  un- 
suspected cause),  then  the  case  for  spiritism  would  go 
to  the  wall;  for  no  other  case  is  so  strong  as  this.  In  the 
same  way,  no  medium  of  our  day  has  succeeded  in  producing 
such  remarkable  phenomena,  under  such  good  conditions,  as 
Eusapia;  and  the  case  for  the  physical  phenomena,  as  before 
said,  may  be  said  to  rest  with  her. 

There  was  one  medium  in  the  past  who  occupied  very 
much  the  same  position,  in  the  interested  and  the  scientific 
world,  as  does  Eusapia  to-day — D.  D.  Home.  The  phe- 
nomena occurring  in  the  presence  of  this  medium  were  very 
much  on  the  same  order  as  those  occurring  in  the  presence  of 
Eusapia.  In  many  respects,  the  phenomena  were  identical; 
but,  whereas  Eusapia,  or  the  forces  operating  through  her, 


6  Eusapia  Palladino 

produce  certain  phenomena  that  were  never  reported  to  have 
occurred  in  the  presence  of  Home  (impressions  of  hands  in 
wet  putty,  e.g.),  Home,  on  the  other  hand,  obtained  cer- 
tain phenomena  that  Eusapia  never  duplicated  or  equaled — 
the  handling  of  red-hot  coals,  etc.  But  the  phenomena  are 
very  similar  in  many  respects;  and  there  is  this  further  simi- 
larity— that  both  these  mediums  have  been  studied  by  scien- 
tific men,  who  published  reports  upon  them  and  their  phe- 
nomena. But  while  Sir  William  Crookes  was  almost  the 
only  man  of  great  eminence  who  defended  Home,  numbers 
have  come  forward  and  published  positive  testimony  in  favor 
of  Eusapia ;  and  in  that  respect  her  case  is  far  stronger  than 
that  of  Home,  simply  by  reason  of  this  cumulative  testimony 
— though  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  many  of  the  incidents 
are  stronger  or  better  evidenced  than  some  of  those  occurring 
in  the  presence  of  Home  and  witnessed  by  Sir  William 
Crookes.  In  many  of  those  incidents,  no  loophole  for  fraud 
or  other  natural  explanation  has  ever  been  found ;  and  critics 
have  had  to  fall  back  upon  the  ground  that  more  evidence 
of  the  same  character  must  be  forthcoming  in  order  to  com- 
pel belief.  This  was  perfectly  rational  and  justifiable,  but 
Home's  death  prevented  this  additional  evidence  from  be- 
ing accumulated.  In  the  case  of  Eusapia  Palladino,  it  seems 
to  have  been  accumulated,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  relative  value  and  significance  of  the  Palladino  phe- 
nomena can  best  be  estimated,  perhaps,  by  a  brief  glance  at 
the  historic  phenomena — similar  cases  of  the  same  general 
character  occurring  in  the  past.  If  we  review  these  cases, 
we  shall  find  many  points  of  interest ;  and  it  will  be  profit- 
able to  devote  at  least  a  brief  space  to  this  side  of  the  con- 
troversy, before  enumerating  the  actual  facts  themselves.  In 
this  way  we  can  get  a  better  look  at  her  phenomena  in  per- 


Eusapia  Palladino  7 

spective,  as  it  were,  and  judge  them  as  they  will  ultimately 
be  judged — from  the  standpoint  of  history*. 

Modern  Spiritualism  is,  Mr.  Podmore  contends,  "the  di- 
rect outgrowth  of  Animal  Magnetism."  This  gave  ri«e, 
first  of  all,  to  the  idea  of  "questioning  spirits"  through  the 
mouths  of  entranced  persons,  and  the  mental  phenomena  are 
the  product  of  this  idea.  These  phenomena  and  these  be- 
liefs Podmore  traced  back,  through  Andrew  Jackson  Davis 
and  others  in  America;  through  the  English  Clairvoyants 
and  the  early  English  Mesmerists;  through  the  German 
Somnambules;  through  the  old  French  Mesmerists,  to  the 
Possession  and  Witchcraft  cases  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The 
physical  phenomena,  on  the  other  hand,  were  traced  back 
through  the  early  physical  mediums  and  poltergeist  cases  to 
the  physical  phenomena  associated  with  the  same  mediaeval 
Witchcraft.  It  is  a  natural  outgrowth,  and  doubtless  the 
correct  one,  in  the  main.  Modern  spiritualistic  phenomena 
— originating  the  present  movement  in  1848 — really  date 
back  a  very  long  way — through  all  history,  in  fact,  and  ac- 
counts of  those  phenomena  occur  in  the  traditions  of  every 
nation.  So  far  as  we  have  any  history  at  all,  we  find  these 
phenomena  occurring — just  such  phenomena,  apparently,  as 
we  observe  to-day,  and  construed  in  very  much  the  same  way 
then  as  they  are  construed  now!  Phenomena,  supposedly 
remarkable,  took  place  in  all  times — in  all  countries;  it  has 
always  been  merely  a  question  of  their  interpretation. 

Now,  when  we  come  to  consider  this  question  of  evidence 
and  interpretation,  we  find  this  interesting  fact.  One  class 
of  individuals  invariably  explained  the  phenomena  in  one 
way — spirits;  the  other  class  endeavored  to  explain  the  facts 
in  a  "naturalistic"  manner,  and  attempted  to  show  that  fraud, 
and  disease,  and  other  natural  states  and  conditions  were  suf- 


8  Eusapia  Palladino 

ficient  to  explain  the  facts.  The  same  warfare  is  existing  to- 
day !  No  certain  solution  of  these  problems  has  even  yet  been 
arrived  at — in  spite  of  the  centuries  of  squabbling,  and  the 
division  is  as  great  and  the  dispute  as  keen  now  as  ever.  Fur- 
ther, the  stronger  the  arguments  that  are  advanced  on  one 
side,  the  stronger  the  arguments  on  the  other — they  seem  to 
balance  each  other  exactly,  so  that  the  matter  now  stands  just 
where  it  did  at  first!     Why  is  this? 

I  think  that  an  explanation  of  this  fact  may  perhaps  be 
found — in  a  number  of  cases  at  least.  In  the  first  place, 
one  side  was  contending  for  the  reality  of  the  facts  (only), 
while  the  other  side  was  fighting  the  facts-and-the-popular- 
construction-of-the-facts  as  well.  They  could  not  seem  to 
get  it  into  their  heads  (and  they  don't  now)  that  the 
opinions  and  explanations  of  a  man  need  not  be  accepted, 
merely  because  his  facts  are.  This  cannot  be  too  strongly 
insisted  upon,  as  it  is  a  large  cause  of  the  trouble — past  and 
present.  In  the  next  place,  the  two  sides  were  not  always 
arguing  about  the  same  facts  at  all !  Thus,  one  man  may  be 
attacking  "spiritualism" — meaning  by  that,  slate  writing, 
materialization,  and  similar  phenomena;  while  another  man 
may  be  defending  "spiritualism" — while  he  means  by  the 
term  mental  and  psychological  phenomena  merely!  It  is  ex- 
ceedingly important  that  the  terms  used  should  be  very 
clearly  understood  by  both  sides,  in  any  dispute  of  this  char- 
acter; and  further,  they  should  be  sure  that  they  are  arguing 
about  the  same  phenomena,  viewed  from  the  same  standpoint. 
If  this  were  done,  half  the  trouble  would  doubtless  disappear 
at  once. 

I  have  digressed  to  m.ake  these  remarks  primarily  for  this 
reason.  If  the  history  of  "the  supernatural"  be  studied  care- 
fully, it  will  be  found  to  duplicate,  on  a  large  scale,  the  his- 


Eusapia  Palladino  9 

tory  of  modern  spiritualism.  The  latter  movement  con- 
denses and  epitomizes,  as  it  were,  the  whole  past  phenomena 
in  just  this  way.  Throughout  the  course  of  its  history, 
fraudulent  phenomena  have  been  observed  (of  that  there 
can  be  no  doubt  whatever),  and  apparently  genuine  phe- 
nomena have  been  taking  place  at  the  same  time  also.  Some 
investigators  came  in  contact  with  the  fraudulent  phenomena, 
and  others  with  the  apparently  genuine;  and  they  have 
both  been  arguing  from  their  own  "experiences."  Of  course 
the  result  was,  that  no  lasting  agreement  was  arrived  at.  In 
order  to  arrive  at  an  agreement,  it  would  be  necessary,  first 
of  all,  to  discuss  the  same  phenomena;  then  agree  as  to  the 
means  that  must  be  adopted  in  order  to  solve  the  problem ; 
finally,  agree  to  attempt  to  solve  it  in  that  manner.  Only 
in  that  way  can  any  lasting  peace  be  found. 

Now,  throughout  all  the  mysticism  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
all  earlier  periods,  and  throughout  modern  spiritualism,  there 
has  been  an  admixture  of  the  fraudulent  and  the  genuine. 
The  preponderance  has  been  on  one  side,  according  to  some 
minds,  and  on  the  other,  according  to  others;  but  very  few 
have  questioned  the  central  fact  that  the  two  have  always 
existed  side  by  side.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the  physi- 
cal phenomena — where  much  fraud  has  always  been  known  to 
exist.  Indeed,  so  much  fraud  existed  in  the  past,  and  so  many 
and  so  ingenious  are  the  means  of  deceiving  the  investigator, 
that  some  critics  are  disposed  to  think  that  no  genuine  physi- 
cal phenomena  at  all  have  ever  occurred!  Mr.  Podmore 
and  other  critics  are  inclined  to  take  this  view — and  this, 
after  a  careful  search  through  both  the  historical  evidence 
and  the  newer  cases.  For  them,  the  physical  phenomena  have 
been  "analyzed  away" ;  they  have  been  resolved  into  very 
natural   phenomena!     Whether  this  position   can  be  main- 


10  Eusapia  Palladino 

tained  indefinitely  or  not  will  have  to  be  decided  by  the  later 
and  more  conclusive  evidence. 

So  we  come,  as  the  result  of  this  long  preamble,  to  this 
point:  Taking  the  past  history  of  modern  spiritualism,  we 
find  many  cases  of  apparently  supernormal  phenomena 
recorded,  but  most  of  them  so  badly  recorded  that  they  do 
not  of  themselves  carry  conviction.  They  are  to  be  doubted, 
therefore.  On  the  contrary,  there  are  a  few  notable  excep- 
tions to  this  rule — e.^.,  D.  D.  Home,  and  William  Stainton 
Moses — in  whose  presence  many  remarkable  phenomena  are 
reported  to  have  occurred,  and  these  cases  are  strong  enough 
to  withstand  criticism,  and  have  at  all  events  never  been 
satisfactorily  explained.  We  thus  have  two  or  three  cases 
standing  out  against  all  past  history  and  human  experience. 
Are  they  strong  enough  or  numerous  enough  to  warrant 
our  belief  in  their  reality?  Most  men  and  women  of  a 
scientific  turn  of  mind  would  probably  think  that  they  were 
not,  and  would  demand  further  proof  and  more  facts.  That 
is  only  fair.    This  is  one  way  of  looking  at  the  facts. 

The  other  view  of  the  historic  evidence  is  this.  Here  are 
one  or  two  cases  that  have  never  been  explained,  and  are 
strong  enough  to  found  a  belief  upon.  The  facts  being  ac- 
cepted upon  the  strength  of  these  few  cases,  may  we  not 
justly  assert  that  the  other,  more  numerous,  but  weaker 
cases,  evidentially,  are  genuine  also — and  may  we  not  con- 
ceive that  the  same  laws  and  forces  that  certainly  governed 
the  phenomena  in  the  best-attested  cases,  governed  and  pro- 
duced the  phenomena  in  the  less  well-attested  cases  also?  It 
was  simply  not  proved  to  be  the  case,  in  those  instances. 
Certainly  this  would  be  a  rational  assumption — if  the  origi- 
nal cases  were  strong  enough,  or  well  enough  attested.  The 
whole  past  history  of  the  phenomena  may  be  read  in  the  light 


Eusapia  Palladino  ii 

of  the  evidence  of  the  newer  facts.  If  no  new  facts  be 
forthcoming,  then  the  older  facts  will  be  cast  into  greater 
and  greater  doubt;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  newer  facts  are 
brought  forward,  tending  to  establish  the  reality  of  the  phe- 
nomena, then  it  is  certainly  probable  that  manj'  of  the  older 
and  less  well-attested  phenomena  were  genuine  also — only 
the  evidence  did  not  prove  it. 

Now  we  can  see  the  tremendous  importance  of  the  Palla- 
dino phenomena.  Their  disproof  would,  on  the  one  hand, 
cast  all  the  historic  phenomena  into  the  gravest  doubt ;  while 
their  proof  would,  on  the  contrary,  tend  to  credit  many  of 
the  older  phenomena;  and  would  tend  to  render  it  probable 
that  they  were,  in  reality,  genuine  also. 

Now,  in  this  case — the  crux  of  spiritualism,  as  before  said 
— the  medium  is,  fortunately,  still  living,  and  can  still 
be  experimented  upon,  by  the  skeptical.  Experiments  are 
now  being  conducted  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  settle  this 
question  once  and  forever;  while  much  of  the  evidence  that 
has  been  presented  in  the  past  is  of  such  a  character  that  it 
has  already  done  so,  to  many  minds.  That,  however,  is  a 
question  that  cannot  be  discussed  here;  as  it  would  be  to 
anticipate.  This  will  at  all  events  show  the  great  signifi- 
cance of  the  facts,  historically,  and  how  much  depends  upon 
their  solution  and  establishment — one  way  or  the  other. 

We  have  come,  therefore,  to  the  point  where  we  must  in- 
vestigate the  facts,  and  see  whither  they  lead  us:  What 
their  nature ;  how  strong  their  evidential  character,  and  what 
conclusions  we  must  draw  from  them,  if  genuine.  And  this 
brings  us  to  another  important  aspect  of  the  case  that  must 
not  be  ignored,  and  which  I  might  perhaps  allude  to  in  this 
place. 

We  have  seen  the  relative  importance  and  significance  of 


il2  Eusapla  Palladino 

the  facts  historically;  now  let  us  briefly  consider  them  from 
the  orthodox  scientific  standpoint.  In  what  way  would  they 
affect  science  and  scientific  thought,  as  at  present  held,  if 
true?  Would  they,  if  proved  to  be  genuine,  enforce  any 
recasting  and  remolding  of  science  or  scientific  ideas? 
Would  they  run  counter  to  the  law  of  the  indestructibility 
of  matter?  of  the  conservation  of  energy?  of  the  possibility 
of  actio  ad  distans?  or  other  well-grounded  scientific  dogmas? 
These  are  questions  that  must  be  settled,  or  at  least  dis- 
cussed. 

First,  I  would  point  out  that  it  would  really  make  no 
difference  at  all,  to  the  really  scientific  investigator,  if  they 
ran  counter  to  these  beliefs  or  not.  He  would  not  care  a 
fig  whether  they  did  or  did  not  run  counter  to  scientific 
beliefs  in  this  respect.  He  would  endeavor  to  ascertain  the 
facts,  and,  these  once  established,  he  would  then  endeavor, 
as  best  he  could,  to  fit  them  into  his  scheme  of  the  universe. 
Some  scientists,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  take  the  opposite  view, 
and  insist  that  the  possibility  of  a  fact  must  be  proved  be- 
fore it  can  be  investigated!  But  we  need  hardly  point  out 
that  this  is  the  reverse  of  scientific.  It  is  the  rankest  dog- 
matism. Facts  should  always  come  before  theories,  and  no 
matter  what  our  views  of  the  Universe  may  be,  any  new 
and  strange  facts  should  be  investigated,  no  matter  how 
they  may  seem  to  run  counter  to  accepted  science,  or  alter 
the  world-scheme,  as  at  present  held.  The  facts  must  be 
investigated,  the  interpretation  of  the  facts  may  come  later. 
Once  established,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  quarrel  over 
them  and  their  interpretation.  We  must  insist,  therefore, 
that,  no  matter  in  what  way  they  may  upset  science,  as  at 
present  held,  these  facts  should  be  investigated  and  the  re- 
sults of  the  investigation  impartially  recorded. 


Eusapia  Palladino  13 

If  these  phenomena — such  as  are  recorded  in  this  book — 
are  ever  accepted  by  orthodox  science — as  they  surely  must 
be,  if  the  evidence  continues  to  increase  in  bulk  and  con- 
clusiveness— then  it  will  certainly  become  necessary  to  con- 
sider the  question  of  interpretation  or  explanation.  Until 
fraud  is  shown  incapable  of  explaining  all  the  facts;  until 
all  purely  "natural"  explanations  are  shown  to  be  inadequate 
— we  must  not,  of  course,  seek  any  other  interpretation. 
But  having  once  shown  that  genuine  supernormal  phenomena 
of  the  kind  do  exist,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  scientific  man 
to  try  and  explain  them.  It  may  be  contended  that  we  need 
not  as  yet  have  any  explanation  at  all ;  that  not  enough  and 
conclusive  enough  phenomena  have  been  collected  to  warrant 
any  hypothesis ;  and  it  would  be  well  to  refrain  from  theoriz- 
ing or  speculating  until  this  additional  evidence  be  forthcom- 
ing. I  sympathize  with  this  point  of  view,  and  was  inclined 
to  defend  this  attitude  myself.^  But  there  comes  a  time, 
Nevertheless,  when  speculation  is  legitimate,  if  tentative. 
There  is  a  difference  between  saying  that  such  and  such  a 
thing  is  done  in  a  certain  way ;  and  saying  that  such  and  such 
a  thing,  if  true  and  genuine,  might  perhaps  have  been  per- 
formed in  that  manner!  In  view  of  the  newer  evidence,  it 
would  seem  that  there  must  come  a  time  when  these  phe- 
nomena will  be  recognized  by  science;  and  then  theorizing 
will  be  legitimate  enough.  At  all  events,  those  of  us  who  are 
convinced  of  the  reality  of  the  phenomena  are  entitled  to  form 
conclusions  and  advance  theories;  and  it  is  in  this  light,  and 
for  this  reason,  that  the  theories  advanced  at  the  end  of  the 
book  are  published. 

We  have  not  yet  discussed  the  changes  in  scientific  views 
that  must  follow  these  newer  researches,  if  accepted,  or  the 

*  See  Journal  of  the  American  S.  P.  R.,  August,  1908,  pp.  471-91. 


14  Eusapia  Palladino 

manner  In  which  the  phenomena  would  contravene  orthodox 
science,  if  established.  It  may  be  well  to  allude  to  this  now, 
briefly,  in  order  that  the  theories  advanced  in  Chapter  V 
may  assume  their  proper  proportions  and  aspect.  Assuredly 
we  must  know  what  is  to  be  changed  before  we  can  under- 
take to  change  it !  "~ 

Materialism  starts  with  the  assumption  that  there  are 
only  two  things  in  the  universe  that  are  eternal — matter  and 
force — all  the  rest  is  ephemeral  and  phenomenal.  I  have 
endeavored  to  show  elsewhere  ^  that  at  least  one  of  these 
laws  can  no  longer  be  said  to  hold  good;  and  that  both  of 
them,  in  the  light  of  the  newest  discoveries  in  physics,  are 
certainly  questionable.  However,  letting  that  pass  for  the 
moment,  materialism  has  made  no  distinct  place  in  the  uni- 
verse for  that  "third  thing"  of  Huxley's — consciousness. 
Materialism  must  take  the  stand  that  consciousness  is  merely 
an  cpiphenomenon ;  that  it  is  a  mere  by-product  of  the  brains 
functioning,  and  of  course  ceases  at  the  moment  of  death — ' 
just  as  all  the  other  vital  activities  cease.  Vitality  is  for 
orthodox  science  a  simple  resultant  of  chemical  combustion, 
limited  strictly  to  the  periphery  of  the  body.  Spirit  and 
soul  do  not  exist,  in  that  scheme;  the  universe  is  in  fact  a 
very  simple  thing,  and  easily  understood — according  to  ma- 
terialism, and  to  those  who  hold  to  it  as  a  philosophy. 

But  there  are,  unfortunately  for  it,  certain  facts  that  can- 
not be  explained  by  any  of  its  laws,  or  in  accordance  with  Its 
teachings.  If  that  doctrine  were  true,  all  our  knowledge 
must  come  to  us  through  the  five  avenues  of  sense,  and  it 
would  be  Impossible  for  us  to  obtain  knowledge  In  any 
other  manner.  That  Is  what  the  ordinary  psychologist  would 
say  is  the  case.     For  him,  telepathy,  clairvoyance,  etc.,  do 

*  The  Coming  Science,  pp.  90-113, 


Eusapia  Palladino  15 

not  exist — except  in  the  credulous  minds  of  the  masses.  And 
it  is  certain  that,  if  consciousness  is  nothing  more  than  a 
product  of  brain  functioning,  any  extension  of  it  beyond  the 
brain  is  impossible.  And  yet  telepathy  is  a  fact!  At  all 
events,  then,  materialism  must  be  stretched  and  extended  to 
take  in  and  cover  this  remarkable  phenomenon ;  and  the  same 
is  true  of  other  supernormal  phenomena. 

Now,  when  we  come  to  the  material  world,  we  find  the 
same  hard  and  fast  rules  set  for  us  as  existed  in  the  psycho- 
logical. In  fact,  modern  science  is  even  ?nore  certain  of  what 
is  possible  and  what  is  impossible  when  it  comes  to  the  ma- 
terial world  than  it  is  in  the  psychological !  There  are  cer- 
tain "laws  of  nature,"  we  are  told,  and  these  it  is  impossible 
to  transgress.  They  never  have  been  transgressed,  and  they 
will  never  be !  Possibly,  if  we  knew  all  the  laws  of  nature, 
this  would  hold  true ;  but  it  so  happens  that  we  do  not  know 
one  tenth  (doubtless)  of  the  "laws  of  nature,"  and  so  are 
unable  to  say,  really,  what  is  possible  and  what  is  not.  We 
can  say  what  is  usual  or  uniform,  but  beyond  that  we  can- 
not go.  Certainly,  if  any  man  asserts  that  he  has  seen  a 
remarkable  fact,  apparently  disproving  laws  hitherto  held 
to  be  inviolable,  he  must  prove  his  claim  by  producing  the 
fact;  that  is  but  right  and  logical.  But  if  the  fact  is  pro- 
duced, and  thoroughly  established,  it  must  be  accepted ;  and 
science  and  even  the  "laws  of  nature"  must  be  recast  in  order 
to  take  in  and  include  this  newer  fact.  True  science  is  alwaj^s 
ready  and  willing  to  do  this.  So  that,  if  the  Palladino  phe- 
nomena are  deemed  to  be  established,  science  will  have  to 
be  remolded  sufficiently  to  include  and  explain  those  facts. 

Now,  when  we  come  to  consider  these  phenomena  in  de- 
tail, we  find  them  broadly  divided  into  two  classes:  (i) 
those  physical  movements  of  objects,  raps,  etc.,  which  seem 


i6  Eusapia  Palladino 

to  indicate  the  presence  of  some  force,  but  no  intelligence; 
and  (2)  those  phenomena  that  seem  to  indicate  that  an  out- 
side intelligence  is  present — and  not  only  that,  but  a  distinct- 
ly human  intelligence,  having  the  shape  of  a  human  form^ 
with  face,  hands,  etc.,  and  in  fact  all  the  characteristics  that 
go  to  make  what  is,  in  popular  tradition,  a  "spirit."  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  the  first  of  these  two  types  presents  far 
less  difficulty,  and  will  doubtless  be  accepted  by  science  long 
before  the  second  set  of  phenomena.  They  should  not  be, 
doubtless,  if  the  testimony  were  equally  strong  in  both  cases, 
but  there  is  a  certain  legitimate  prejudice  in  the  minds  of 
scientific  men  that  must  be  taken  into  account  and  allowed 
for.  In  view  of  the  past,  it  is  quite  intelligible;  and  spirit- 
ualists, if  they  are  wise,  will  not  insist  too  strongly  upon 
these  phenomena  at  first,  but  would  let  time  take  its  own 
course,  and  know  that  Truth,  whatever  that  is,  will  ulti- 
mately triumph.  If  true,  the  phenomena  will  one  day  be 
recognized  and  accepted ;  and  nothing  is  to  be  gained,  and 
perhaps  much  is  to  be  lost,  by  unduly  hurrying  the  scientific 
world  into  an  acceptance  of  the  facts. 

Taking  the  first  group  of  phenomena,  we  find  that  there 
should  be  really  very  little  difficulty  in  accepting  them — if 
only  an  extension  of  present-day  science  were  granted.  The 
facts  would  not  run  counter  to  anything  that  has  been 
taught,  in  the  majority  of  cases;  they  would  merely  mean 
an  extension  of  present  theories  and  knowledge.  Perhaps  I 
can  illustrate  this.  Take,  for  example,  the  movement  of 
an  object  without  contact.  We  know  that  this  object  can 
always  be  made  to  move  by  the  application  of  a  certain 
amount  of  pressure  or  force — when  no  material  object  is 
touching  it.  A  gust  of  wind  will  blow  over  a  table  or  a 
chair,  for  example;  light  energy  will  keep  clouds  suspended 


Eusapia  Palladino  17 

in  the  atmosphere,  etc.  Here,  although  there  is  a  medium 
postulated  through  which  these  effects  are  produced,  there 
is  no  direct  contact  between  one  material  object  and  the 
other.  The  cause  and  the  effect  are  separated  by  a  gaseous 
or  an  etheric  medium,  through  which  these  energies  act. 

'{  This  being  so,  why  may  it  not  be  conceived  that  there  is 
some  vital  energj^  or  some  other  force  unknown  to  us  which 

^is  capable,  under  certain  conditions,  of  extending  be3'ond  the 
periphery  of  the  body,  causing  vibrations  in  the  ether,  and 
producing  these  various  movements?}  It  seems  to  me  that 
there  is,  or  should  be,  but  little  difficulty  experienced  here. 
Very  much  the  same  is  true  of  the  rap  and  other  nonintelli- 
gent  phenomena.  It  might  easily  be  conceived,  as  Dr.  Max- 
well indeed  did  conceive,  that  "an  explosive  discharge  of 
neuric  force"  would  account  for  these  raps — they  being  close- 
ly akin  to  the  noise  of  a  spark,  in  an  electrical  discharge. 
Of  course  the  mentality  connected  with  these  raps  is  a  dif- 
ferent matter ;  that  requires  separate  treatment. 

Speculations  such  as  these  are  perhaps  out  of  place  in  the 
first  chapter  of  a  book  which  is  to  be  devoted  principally  to 
the  collection  and  presentation  o{  facts;  but  it  may  be  as  well 
to  insist  at  the  outset  upon  the  point  of  view  from  which 
these  facts  must  be  regarded.  The  clearing  away  of  pre- 
vious prejudices  and  preconceptions  is  the  primary  object 
of  this  chapter ;  to  insure,  so  far  as  possible,  an  open  and  un- 
biased mind  in  reading  and  weighing  the  facts  and  the 
evidence  to  be  presented.  I  have  reserved  for  the  last  chap- 
ters all  considerations  of  a  purely  theoretical  and  speculative 
character;  and  shall  first  of  all  devote  myself  to  a  statement 
of  the  facts,  with  critical  comment.  If  the  reality  of  the 
facts  be  accepted — if  the  facts  be  admitted  as  such,  by  the 
scientific  and  thoughtful  world — then  theories  and  explana- 


i8  Eusapia  Palladino 

tory  hypotheses  are  very  valuable  and  necessary;  but  until 
the  facts  themselves  are  established,  all  such  speculations  are 
premature.  I  accordingly  propose  that  we  address  ourselves 
to  the  facts,  throughout  the  remainder  of  this  book,  until 
the  last  chapters  be  reached;  when  explanatory  hypotheses 
will  be  discussed.  With  the  facts  before  him,  the  reader 
will  be  in  a  better  position  to  judge  of  the  relative  prob- 
ability of  the  various  theories  advanced — or  even  of  their 
necessity  at  all. 


CHAPTER  II 

EUSAPIA    PALLADINO'S    BIOGRAPHY 

Accounts  of  the  early  life  of  Eusapia  Palladino,  and  of 
how  she  first  came  into  her  mediumship,  vary  greatly.  Her 
own  statements  are  sometimes  contradictory,  thus:  Eusapia 
told  me,  when  I  was  in  Naples,  that  she  had  been  an  out- 
cast since  quite  a  little  child,  had  been  taken  up  by  a  family 
of  friends,  and  cared  for  by  them — accidentally  discovering 
her  mediumistic  powers  when  about  fourteen  years  of  age 
by  sitting  at  a  table.  The  table  tilted,  and  finally  rose  com- 
pletely into  the  air.  She  asserted  that,  for  a  number  of  years, 
she  gave  seances  only  infrequently,  and  to  friends;  and  that 
the  seances,  during  the  early  years  of  her  mediumship,  seemed 
to  relieve  her  and  remove  her  feeling  of  depression ;  but  that, 
during  her  later  years,  they  sapped  her  energy,  and  made  her 
extremely  weak  and  depressed.  This  would  seem  to  be  the 
truth,  judging  from  her  condition  after  a  seance — but  I 
have  remarked  upon  this  elsewhere. 

When  we  asked  Eusapia  whether  the  report  was  true  that 
she  had  married  a  conjurer,  she  replied  indignantly  that  it 
was  not.  She  stated  that  her  first  husband  had  been  "con- 
nected with  theatricals,"  and  knew  the  details  of  stage 
mechanism,  and  its  various  trick  devices.  He  also  knew  a 
few  tricks,  and  took  a  delight  in  exhibiting  them  to  his  fel- 
low-workers ;  but  that  he  was  not  by  any  means  a  professional 
conjurer. 

19 


20  Eusapia  Palladino 

This  account  seems  to  agree  somewhat  with  other  state- 
ments made  by  her — though  differing  in  some  particulars. 
M.  Flammarion,  e.g.,  in  his  Mysterious  Psychic  Forces, 
says: 

"Eusapia  Palladino  was  introduced  to  me.  She  is  a 
woman  of  very  ordinary  appearance,  a  brunette,  her  figure  a 
little  under  the  medium  height.  She  was  forty-three  years 
old,  not  at  all  neurotic,  rather  stout.  She  was  born  on  Janu- 
ary 21,  1854,  ii  ^  village  of  La  Pouille ;  her  mother  died 
while  giving  birth  to  the  child ;  her  father  was  assassinated 
eight  years  afterwards,  in  1862,  by  brigands  in  Southern  Italy. 
Eusapia  Palladino  is  her  maiden  name.  She  was  married 
at  Naples  to  a  merchant  of  modest  means  named  Raphael 
Delgaiz,  a  citizen  of  Naples.  She  manages  the  petty  busi- 
ness of  the  shop,  is  illiterate,  does  not  know  how  to  either 
read  or  write,  understands  only  a  little  French.  I  con- 
versed with  her,  and  soon  perceived  that  she  has  no  theories 
and  does  not  burden  herself  by  trying  to  explain  the  phe- 
nomena produced  by  her."     (p.  67.) 

Probably  the  completest  account  of  her  youth,  and  the 
manner  in  which  she  first  became  interested  in  the  subject,  is 
that  given  by  Mme.  Paola  Carrara,  the  daughter  of  Professor 
Lombroso,  who  says  of  her:  ' 

"We  are  not  concerned  now  with  the  Eusapia  of  dark  me- 
diumistic  cabinets,  amidst  the  sobbing  and  whispering,  the 
mystery  of  hands,  of  dancing  tables,  of  resounding  raps;  but 
the  Eusapia  of  daylight,  who,  free  from  the  paternal  shade  of 
John,  returns  to  her  normal  personality  as  an  ordinary  and 
altogether  uneducated  woman  of  the  very  lowest  Neapolitan 
populace. 

"During  the  two  months  passed  by  Eusapia  at  Turin  I 
often  saw  her,"  writes  Mme.  Carrara,  "and  I  always  thought 
that  her  real  personality  is  as  interesting  as  her  personality 
as  a  medium,  and  that  it  is  the  result  of  the  strangest  product 
which  the  human  race  can  supply. 


Eusapia  Palladino  21 

"Eusapia  is  a  mixture  of  many  contrasts.  She  Is  a  mix- 
ture of  silliness  and  maliciousness,  of  intelligence  and  igno- 
rance, of  strange  conditions  of  existence.  Think  of  a  sales- 
woman of  Naples  transplanted  without  any  preparation  into 
the  most  elegant  drawing-rooms  of  the  aristocracy  of  Europe. 
She  has  gained  a  smattering  of  cosmopolitan  intellectuality 
but  she  has  also  ingeniously  remained  a  woman  of  the  lower 
class. 

"She  has  been  carried  on  the  wing  of  universal  renown 
and  yet  she  has  never  cast  ofi  the  swaddling  clothes  of  illiter- 
acy. No  doubt  this  illiteracy  saves  her  from  vanity,  for  she 
knows  nothing  of  all  the  rivers  of  ink  which  have  been  spent 
upon  her.  .  .  . 

"Here  are  a  few  details  sufficiently  piquant  to  awaken 
public  interest. 

"Her  appearance  and  words  seem  to  be  quite  genuine  and 
sincere.  She  has  not  the  manner  of  one  who  either  poses  or 
tricks  or  deceives  others.  She  has  had  the  perversity,  a  rare 
occurrence,  to  remain  as  nature  made  her:  outspoken,  sin- 
cere, instinctive,  to  such  a  degree  that  however  wonderful 
may  be  the  tales  she  tells,  they  are  true. 

"Her  physiognomy  is  not  ugly,  although  M.  Barzini  has 
discreetly  insinuated  that  it  is  so.  Her  face  is  large,  marked 
by  some  suffering,  and  bears  traces  rather  of  the  spiritistic 
seances,  of  the  effort  and  the  fatigue  which  they  involve, 
than  of  the  fifty-three  years  that  she  has  lived. 

"She  cherishes  her  appearance,  or,  at  least,  she  shows  some 
coquetry  about  it.  She  has  magnificent  black  eyes,  mobile 
and  even  diabolical  in  expression.  She  displays  coquettishly 
her  famous  white  lock  among  her  dark  hairs. 

"  'Formerly,'  she  says,  'I  was  ashamed  of  it,  but  now  that 
everyone  compliments  me  on  it  I  do  not  hide  it  any  more.' 

"Her  hands  are  pretty,  her  feet  small.  She  always  keeps 
them  visible  outside  her  dress  to  show  that  they  are  closely 
shod  in  polished  shoes." 

The  first  time  that  she  saw  her  at  her  father's  house,  Mme. 
Paola  Carrara  could  not  draw  from  her  any  confidences  con- 


22  Eusapia  Palladino 

cerning  her  life  as  a  medium.  Instead,  she  told  her  of  the 
feelings  she  had  when  frequenting  high-class  society.  Her 
impudence  and  arrogance  as  a  Neapolitan  of  the  lower  class 
sometimes  almost  takes  the  form  of  personal  dignity . 

On  one  occasion,  she  related  that  she  was  staying  with 
the  Grand  Dukes  in  St.  Petersburg:  the  Grand  Duchess 
often  sent  for  her  to  come  and  talk  to  her  or  keep  her  com- 
pany in  the  drawing-room,  but  when  visitors  came  she  made 
an  imperious  sign,  showing  her  the  door.  Twice  Eusapia 
rather  reluctantly  obeyed,  but  at  last  she  rebelled  and  plant- 
ing herself  in  front  of  the  princess,  she  said:  "Madame  la 
Grande  Duchesse,  you  doubtless  mistake  me  for  a  basket 
which  is  carried  to  market  when  it  is  required,  and  left  in  a 
corner  when  it  is  done  with.  Either  I  shall  remain  in  the 
drawing-room  with  all  the  visitors,  or  I  shall  leave  the 
castle." 

And  the  princess  by  blood,  not  to  discontent  the  princess 
of  spiritism,  consented  that  she  should  remain  in  the  drawing- 
room. 

At  Turin  the  Duke  of  the  Abruzzi  asked  and  obtained  a 
seance  with  her  and  afterwards  paid  her  lavishly,  but  Eusapia 
was  dissatisfied. 

"What  is  a  five-hundred-franc  note  to  me  ?     I  am  capable 
of  tearing  your  five-hundred-franc  note  into  four  pieces  (she 
made  a  gesture  of  tearing  it,  but  did  not  really  do  so) ,  but 
■  I  do  what  I  choose,  and  I  choose  to  be  treated  politely." 

She  had  been  very  annoyed  because  the  prince  had  not 
sent  her  his  card. 

But  one  day  Eusapia,  who  ordinarily  replies  apathetically 
to  those  who  interrogate  her  on  this  question,  consented  to 
relate  how  she  became  a  medium. 

"My  history  is  long  and  incredible,"  she  said,  "but  I  wish 


Eusapia  Palladino  23 

to  tell  It  to  you  because  everybody  pretends  to  know  it  (I 
mean  journalists),  and  they  know  nothing,  and  have  only 
accumulated  a  heap  of  lies  about  me." 

She  told  us  that  she  was  born  at  Minervo-Murge,  a  moun- 
tain village  near  Barl  (Apulia).  Her  mother  died  shortly 
after  her  birth,  and  her  father,  who  was  a  peasant,  caused 
her  to  be  brought  up  on  a  neighboring  farm. 

But  the  villagers  took  little  care  of  the  orphan.  Once 
when  she  was  only  a  year  old,  she  was  allowed  to  fall,  so 
that  a  hole  was  made  in  her  head.  That  is  the  famous 
cranial  opening  from  which,  in  moments  of  trance,  a  cold 
breeze  is  felt  to  issue.  On  this  scar  has  grown  a  tress  of 
hair  that  has  always  been  white  since  infancy,  and  which  is 
easily  distinguishable  in  her  photographs. 

"As  if  I  had  not  had  trouble  enough,"  she  said,  "when  I 
was  twelve  years  old  my  father  died.  I  was  thus  completely 
alone,  for  I  had  no  near  relations.  A  native  of  my  village, 
who  lived  in  Naples,  having  learned  my  sad  history,  took 
charge  of  me.  At  Naples  he  put  me  in  the  care  of  some 
foreigners  who  wished  to  adopt  a  little  girl.  But  I  was  not 
at  all  the  sort  they  wanted,  for  I  was  like  a  wild  animal, 
a  forest  bird,  ignorant,  and  having  always  lived  as  a  poor 
creature,  and  these  ladies  wanted  to  make  of  me  an  educated 
and  learned  girl.  They  wanted  me  to  take  a  bath  every  daj% 
and  comb  my  hair  every  daj^,  and  to  use  a  fork  at  table,  to 
study  French  and  the  piano,  and  to  learn  to  read  and  write. 
In  fact,  1  was  to  fill  up  all  my  time  with  occupation,  and  I 
could  not  amuse  mj^self.  Then  began  scoldings  and  revolt. 
They  told  me  I  was  lazy,  and,  in  short,  in  less  than  a  year  I 
was  turned  out  of  their  house.  I  was  in  despair;  I  went 
again  in  search  of  that  family  in  my  own  country,  who  gave 
me  shelter  for  a  few  days,  whilst  arrangements  were  being 
made  to  put  me  in  a  convent.  I  had  been  in  the  house  for  a 
few  days  when,  one  evening,  some  friends  came  who  spoke  of 
tables  that  dance  and  give  raps,   things  which  were  much 


24  Eusapla  Palladino 

talked  about  at  that  time.  And,  as  a  joke,  they  proposed  to 
try  and  make  a  table  turn. 

"They  fetched  one,  sat  around  it  and  called  me  to  come 
and  make  a  chain  with  them.  We  had  not  sat  down  for  ten 
minutes  before  the  table  began  to  rise,  the  chairs  began  to 
dance,  the  curtains  to  swell,  the  glasses  and  bottles  to  walk 
about,  and  the  bells  to  ring  in  such  fashion  that  all  were 
frightened,  as  if  in  fun  they  had  called  up  the  devil  and 
expected  him  to  appear  every  minute.  We  were  tested  one 
by  one  to  see  who  produced  these  phenomena,  and  they  finally 
concluded  that  it  was  I.  They  then  proclaimed  me  to  be 
a  medium  and  talked  to  everj^body  about  it,  inviting  their 
friends  and  acquaintances  to  little  spiritistic  seances.  They 
made  me  sit  whole  evenings  at  the  table,  but  that  was  tedious 
to  me,  and  I  only  did  it  because  it  was  a  way  of  recompensing 
my  hosts,  whose  desire  to  keep  me  with  them  prevented  their 
placing  me  in  the  convent.  I  took  up  laundress  work,  think- 
ing I  might  render  myself  independent  and  live  as  I  liked 
without  troubling  about  spiritistic  seances." 

"But,"  she  was  asked,  "how  did  John  King  appear  on  the 
scene?"  ^ 

"That  is  the  strangest  part  of  my  story,  which  many  per- 
sons will  not  believe.  At  the  time  when  I  began  to  hold 
spiritistic  seances  in  Naples,  an  English  lady  came  there  who 
had  married  a  Neapolitan,  a  certain  Damiani,  a  brother  of 
the  deputy,  who  still  lives.  This  lady  was  devoted  to  spirit- 
ism. One  day  when  she  was  at  the  table,  a  message  came  to 
her  informing  her  that  there  was  in  Naples  a  person  who 
had  lately  arrived,  who  lived  at  such  a  number,  in  such  a 
street,  and  was  called  Eusapia,  that  she  was  a  powerful  me- 
dium, and  that  the  spirit  who  sent  this  message,  John  King, 
was  disposed  to  incarnate  himself  in  her  and  to  manifest  by 
marvelous  phenomena.  The  spirit  did  not  speak  in  vain, 
for  the  lady  at  once  sought  to  verify  the  message.  She  went 
directly  to  the  street  and  the  number  indicated,  mounted  to  the 
third  floor,  knocked  at  the  door  and  inquired  if  a  certain 

^  John  King  is  the  so-called  spirit  "guide"  or  "control"  of  Eusapia,  who 
is  supposed  to  regulate  her  seances  and  produce  most  of  the  phenomena. 
For  this,  however,  see  later  on  in  the  book. 


Eusapia  Palladino  25 

Eusapia  did  not  live  there.  She  found  me,  though  I  had 
never  imagined  that  any  such  John  had  lived  either  in  this 
world  or  another.  But  almost  as  soon  as  I  sat  at  the  table 
John  King  manifested  and  has  never  left  me  since.  Yes!  I 
swear"  (and  she  said  tliis  emphatically)  "that  all  that  I  am 
telling  you  is  the  simple  truth,  although  many  persons  seem 
to  think  I  have  arranged  the  facts." 

Mme.  Paola  Carrara  then  relates  the  following  anecdote, 
told  by  Eusapia  Palladino: 

This  happened  ten  years  ago.  Eusapia  says  she  possessed 
diamond  earrings  and  bracelets  set  with  emeralds,  massive 
chains  and  rings  with  precious  stones.  Her  rich  acquaint- 
ances— Sardou,  Aksakoff,  Richet,  Ochorowicz,  Semiraski, 
Flammarion — knowing  her  Neapolitan  taste  for  gold  orna- 
ments, had  loaded  her  with  many  gifts.  For  better  security 
she  put  these  treasures  into  a  sort  of  strong  box  in  her  shop. 

"One  night,"  she  said,  "I  had  a  horrible  dream:  I  saw 
a  man,  of  whom  I  saw  not  only  the  face,  but  all  the  details 
of  his  clothes,  with  an  old  hat,  a  handkerchief  round  his  neck, 
check  trousers;  he  came  into  the  shop  and  forced  open  the 
box,  whilst  two  companions  watched  at  the  door." 

The  impression  was  so  strong  that  she  awoke  her  husband 
and  told  him  that  the  shop  was  being  robbed.  He  paid  no 
attention ;  but  she  got  up  about  two  o'clock,  went  into  the 
shop  and  assured  herself  that  there  were  no  thieves  there. 
But  to  set  her  mind  at  rest  she  took  her  precious  jewels  and 
carried  them  to  her  room,  where  she  shut  them  up  in  a 
piece  of  furniture  after  counting  them  one  by  one.  What 
Avas  her  alarm  next  day  when  she  encountered,  near  the  door 
of  the  house,  an  individual  identical  in  appearance  with  the 
person  she  had  dreamed  of!  Worried  by  this  thought,  she 
went  to  consult  a  police  functionary  whom  she  knew,  but  he 
excused  himself,  saying:  "I  cannot,  dear  ]VIadam,  undertake 


26  Eusapia  Palladino 

to  act  as  policeman  of  dreams,  but  if  you  wish  to  make  your 
mind  easy  take  j^our  jewels  to  the  bank,  where  they  will  be 
better  looked  after  than  by  my  officers." 

Following  this  sound  and  simple  advice,  she  took  her 
precious  box  to  the  bank,  but  she  arrived  too  late,  the  doors 
were  closed ;  being  still  uneasy,  she  returned  to  the  officer 
and  asked  him  to  station  two  of  his  men  at  her  door  for  one 
night.  This  was  done.  The  two  guards  remained  there  all 
night.  And  on  that  night  the  dream  of  the  theft  was  re- 
peated, so  that  on  awaking  her  first  thought  was  to  assure 
herself  whether  her  small  treasure  was  still  in  the  place 
where  she  had  put  it. 

At  about  ten  o'clock  she  went  out  to  the  shop,  a 
few  yards  away  from  her  house.  When  she  reached  it  she 
bethought  herself  suddenly  that  she  had  been  unwase  to  leave 
her  jewels  in  the  house.  She  returned  quickly  to  fetch  them. 
The  entrance  door  was  closed ;  but  she  had  scarcely  reached 
the  cupboard  before  she  perceived  that  the  precious  box  had 
disappeared.  She  rushed  out,  crying,  like  one  possessed: 
"Holy  Virgin,  holy  Virgin!  my  jewels  are  stolen.  Catch 
the  thief!  catch  the  thief!"  for  she  had  not  been  out  of  the 
house  ten  minutes,  and  the  thief  could  not  be  far  away. 

The  police  commissary  recognized  the  individual,  whom 
Eusapia  described,  as  one  of  the  best-known  thieves  of  a  gang 
in  Naples.  Afterwards,  Eusapia  found  out  how  he,  in  league 
with  one  of  her  servants,  had  succeeded  in  getting  a  false 
key  made  to  fit  the  lock  of  the  jewel  box.  "You  see,"  Eusapia 
bitterly  remarked,  "you  see  what  little  use  there  is  in  this 
fine  mediumistic  faculty!  It  did  not  serve  to  save  my  jewels, 
those  jewels  which  were  dear  to  me  as  the  apple  of  my  eye. 
.What  is  to  happen,  happens  in  spite  of  everything!" 

On  being  asked  whether  the  spirits,  or  at  least  the  medium- 


Eusapia  Palladino  27 

istic    faculty,    had   intervened   previously,   in   other   circum- 
stances of  her  life,  she  replied : 

y 

"No,  I  never  perceive  the  presence  of  a  spirit,  but  some- 
times without  my  being  aware  of  it  or  w^ishing  it,  a  spirit 
must  have  helped  me.  Two  years  ago  I  was  ill  in  Paris, 
and  I  had  a  lazy  and  negligent  nurse  who,  instead  of  giving 
me  medicine,  lay  down  on  her  bed  and  slept  profoundly.  I 
might  call  and  ring,  nobody  answered.  And  what  hap- 
pened then?  The  lazy  woman  was  aroused  by  blows  and 
pinches  which  I  had  no  intention  of  making,  so  that  the  nurse 
became  alarmed  by  this  strange  phenomenon  and  would  have 
nothing  more  to  do  with  me  and  my  sorceries." 

Everyone  who  has  observed  and  studied  Eusapia,  has 
noticed  that  her  hands  and  her  fingers  produce  a  repercus- 
sion on  objects  and  persons  at  a  distance.  The  movements 
which  her  hands  made  in  her  imagination  were  probably 
movements  of  irritation  against  the  nurse  and  resulted  prob- 
ably in  those  pinches  which  the  nurse  actually  felt. 

Mme.  Paola  Carrara  thus  terminates  her  interesting  study: 

"There  are  singular  things  in  this  nature  which  seems 
so  simple  and  open — certain  attempts  at  cheating  have  been 
remarked.  An  observer  who  held  more  than  thirty  seances 
with  her,  and  who  saw  produced  by  day  and  in  full  light 
really  marvelous  phenomena,  asserts  that  two  or  three  times 
in  the  course  of  the  seance  she  had  recourse  to  trickery,  to 
fraud  and  deceit,  but  so  clumsily  that  she  was  easily  discov- 
ered. It  is  not  because  at  these  moments  the  medium- 
istic  faculty  fails,  for  when  controlled,  she  immediately  after- 
wards produced  indisputable  phenomena." 


CHAPTER  III 

HISTORICAL   RESUME    OF    THE     PALLADINO   CASE 

§  I.  Professor  Lombroso's  Conversion — 1891 

Eusapia  Palladino  owes  her  introduction  to  the  scientific 
world  to  Professor  Chiaia,  of  Naples,  who  published,  on 
August  9,  1888,  in  a  journal  issued  in  Rome,  a  letter 
to  Professor  Lombroso,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  had  in- 
vestigated this  medium  for  some  time,  and  had  become  con- 
vinced of  her  genuine  supernormal  powers.  He  called  upon 
Professor  Lombroso  to  investigate  likewise ;  and  put  the 
matter  of  her  mediumship  to  the  test.  Professor  Lombroso 
did  not  accede  to  this  challenge  for  a  considerable  time;  but 
some  years  later  he  consented  to  sit  with  Eusapia — the  re- 
sult of  the  sittings  being  to  convince  him  that  at  least  some 
of  the  observed  phenomena  were  genuine,  beyond  dispute. 
In  a  letter  dated  June  25,  1891,  he  said: 

"I  am  filled  with  confusion  and  regret  that  I  combated 
with  so  much  persistence  the  possibility  of  the  facts  called 
Spiritualistic.  I  say  facts,  because  I  am  still  opposed  to  the 
theory.  ..." 

It  was  in  February,  1891,  that  Professor  Lombroso,  Pro- 
fessor Tamburini,  MM.  Gigli,  Vizioli,  Ascensi,  and  Ciolfi 
(who  drew  up  the  report)  secured  two  seances  with  Eusapia 
in  Naples.  The  usual  phenomena  were  observed,  and  one 
incident  of  remarkable  interest  that  should  be  recorded  here. 
This  phenomenon  was  the  following: 

28 


Eusapia  Palladino  29 

"The  light  was  extinguished,  and  the  experiments  began 
again.  While,  in  response  to  the  unanimous  wish,  the  little 
bell  was  beginning  again  its  tinklings,  and  its  mysterious 
aerial  circuits,  M.  Ascensi,  taking  his  cue  unknown  to  us, 
from  M.  Tamburini,  went  (unperceived,  owing  to  the  dark- 
ness) and  stood  at  the  right  of  the  medium,  and  at  once,  with 
a  single  scratch,  lighted  a  match,  so  successfully,  as  he  de- 
clared that  he  could  see  the  little  bell  while  it  mas  vibrating 
in  the  air,  and  suddenly  fall  upon  a  bed  about  six  feet  and  a 
half  behind  Mme.  Palladino."^ 

Later  in  the  seance,  a  small  table,  in  spite  of  M.  Ascensi's 
efForts  to  hold  it,  extricated  itself  from  his  grasp,  and  went 
rolling  over  the  floor. 

At  the  second  seance,  Eusapia  was  bound  with  ropes.  In 
spite  of  this,  however,  the  usual  phenomena  occurred — raps, 
touches,  etc. — and  the  small  table,  which  had  been  placed  in 
the  cabinet,  advanced  toward  Mme.  Palladino.  Suddenly, 
while  the  table  was  still  in  movement,  a  salver  that  had 
been  placed  upon  it,  turned  upside  down,  without  a  particle 
of  the  flour  which  it  contained  being  spilled.  It  was  asserted 
that  such  an  occurrence  is,  under  usual  circumstances,  im- 
possible. 

§  2.  The  Report  of  the  Milan  Commission — 1892 

As  the  result  of  Professor  Lombroso's  conversion,  several 
savants — Professors  Schiaparelli,  director  of  the  observatory 
of  Milan;  Gerosa,  professor  of  physics;  Ermacora,  doctor 
of  natural  pliilosophy;  Aksakof,  councilor  of  state  to  the 
Emperor  of  Russia;  Charles  du  Prel,  doctor  of  philosophy 
in  Munich;  Professor  Charles  Richet,  of  the  Sorbonne,  Paris; 

'  A  number  of  photographs  of  objects  floating  in  the  air  without  visible  sup- 
port— violins,  horns,  etc.— are  to  be  found  in  The  Annals  of  Psychical  Science, 
April- June,  1909.     The  medium  in  this  case  is  Carancini. 


30  Eusapia  Palladino 

and  Professor  BufEern— met  in  October,  1892,  in  the  apart- 
ment of  M.  Finzi,  at  Milan,  and  conducted  a  long  series 
of  experiments.  Seventeen  sittings,  in  all,  were  obtained — 
extracts  of  which  are  quoted  below.  > 

The  most  striking  phenomena  took  place  in  full  light. 
These  were  (i)  the  levitations  of  the  table,  and  (2)  the 
alteration  of  the  medium's  weight  in  the  balance.  Photo- 
graphs of  some  of  these  levitations  were  taken,  and  published 
in  the  Report.  Arguments  were  adduced,  showing  that  Eu- 
sapia could  not  have  lifted  the  table  by  her  hands,  knees,  or 
feet.  The  committee  attempted  to  duplicate  these  levitations 
of  the  table  under  conditions  imposed  upon  Eusapia,  but 
failed  to  do  so.  The  experiments  in  which  her  weight  ap- 
peared to  be  altered  are  of  great  interest.  The  account  of 
these  reads  as  follows: 

"Eusapia,  seated  on  a  chair,  was  placed  on  the  platform 
of  a  weighing  machine,  and  her  feet  were  strongly  bound 
together  by  a  handkerchief.  One  of  us,  M.  Finzi,  was  told 
off  to  read  the  weight.  M.  Schiaparelli  and  I  employed  our- 
selves in  watching  closely  the  balance  and  its  surroundings, 
so  as  to  be  sure  that  Eusapia  did  not  touch  with  hand  or 
foot  the  ground,  or  any  object  in  the  neighborhood. 

"Her  weight  with  the  chair  being  58  kilogrammes  (nearly 
128  pounds,  or  over  9  stone),  we  placed  on  the  scale  500 
grammes  at  a  point  where  it  would  be  equivalent  to  50  kilo- 
grammes, and  then  the  rider  was  placed  at  the  figure  eight. 
Eusapia's  weight  was  thus  exactly  balanced.  Then,  though 
Eusapia  did  not  move  her  chair,  we  had,  in  order  to  main- 
tain equilibrium,  to  shift  the  rider,  first  to  six,  then  to  four, 
and  then  to  two,  and  finally  to  zero,  and  further  to  obtain 
exact  equilibrium,  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  take  away 
a  little  of  the  weight  of  500  grammes  which  represented  50 
kilogrammes.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  Eusapia  di- 
minished her  weight  in  this  experiment  by  at  least  8  kilo- 


Eusapla  Palladino  31 

grammes  (i7>^  pounds).  We  are  certain  that  she  threw 
nothing  away  (if  she  had  thrown  anything  away  she  Avould 
have  had  to  recover  it  in  order  to  restore  her  original  weight), 
and  equally  certain  that  she  derived  no  support  from  any 
neighboring  object.  And,  finally,  the  movements  were  suf- 
ficiently slow — it  occupied  from  ten  to  twenty  seconds — 
to  make  it  impossible  to  attribute  it  to  any  jump,  or  quick 
movement  of  any  kind.  Nevertheless,  the  observation  did 
not  appear  to  us  conclusive.  In  brief,  in  the  ordinary  weigh- 
ing machine,  constructed  on  the  principle  of  the  steelyard, 
the  weight  varies  (although  it  is  true  within  very  narrow 
limits)  with  the  position  of  the  center  of  gravity.  By  chang- 
ing his  position  on  the  platform,  especially  when,  as  was  the 
case  here,  the  machine  is  not  a  very  good  one,  the  person 
who  is  being  weighed  can  appreciably  vary  his  weight. 

"We  devised,  accordingly,  a  weighing  machine  of  a  differ- 
ent kind,  in  which  the  platform  was  suspended  by  the  four 
corners.  In  this  machine,  the  weight  would  show  no  varia- 
tion, no  matter  what  was  the  position  of  the  sitter  on  the  plat- 
form. An  automatic  arrangement,  devised  by  M.  Finzi, 
registered  the  movements  of  the  lever.  In  the  fifth  sitting 
we  obtained  a  result  which  was  certainly  remarkable — seeing 
that  it  occurred  under  exceptionally  good  conditions.  M. 
Schiaparelli  and  I  were  watching  the  machine,  both  above 
and  below,  so  as  to  be  sure  that  Eusapia  did  not  touch  either 
the  ground  or  the  support  from  which  the  platform  was 
hung. 

"Under  these  conditions,  there  was  certainly  a  slight  up- 
ward movement  of  the  platform,  but  it  was  very  trifling; 
and  although  the  automatic  register  indicated  a  marked 
diminution  in  the  weight,  lasting  for  about  15  seconds,  I 
cannot  say  for  certain  that  the  movement  of  the  register  did 
not  occur  at  the  moment  when  Eusapia,  in  order  to  gain 
more  strength,  asked  one  of  the  investigators  to  give  her  his 
hand,  which  she  held  for  a  short  time  before  relinquishing." 

The  committee  point  out,  however,  that  the  evidence  for 
a  new  physical  force  is  incomplete,  because  this  experiment 


32  Eusapia  Palladino 

succeeded  only  when  a  part  of  Eusapia's  dress  touched  the 
floor,  and  when  precautions  were  taken  to  prevent  this  con- 
tact, no  appreciable  effect  was  produced  on  the  balance. 
Upon  one  occasion,  when  the  balance  was  placed  some  ten 
inches  behind  Eusapia,  in  response  to  an  urgent  movement 
of  her  hand,  the  rider  oscillated  violently,  and  the  hands, 
feet,  and  knees  of  the  medium  were  being  securely  held. 
This  effect,  as  of  some  heavy  weight  being  thrown  into  the 
scale,  was,  however,  never  repeated. 

In  a  further  set  of  experiments,  results  were  obtained 
which  seemed  clearly  beyond  the  medium's  unaided  powers. 
A  portion  of  the  room  was  curtained  off  from  the  rest,  and 
the  medium  placed  in  the  aperture  of  the  curtains,  which 
were  joined  above  her  head.  The  space  curtained  off  was 
left  in  absolute  darkness,  the  rest  of  the  room  was  dimly 
lighted  by  a  lantern  with  red  glass  sides.  On  one  occasion 
Professor  Richet  took  up  his  station  in  the  darkened  part 
of  the  room,  behind  the  curtains,  his  chair  placed  back  to 
back  with  that  upon  which  Eusapia  sat.  The  medium's 
hands  were  held  on  either  side  by  M.  Schiaparelli,  and  M. 
Finzi.  Her  feet  were  also  held.  Under  such  circumstances, 
however,  the  curtain  was  blown  out,  and  Professor  Richet 
was  touched  on  the  right  shoulder  by  a  distinct  hand  and 
pulled  with  some  force.  At  the  same  moment,  M.  Finzi 
was  touched  on  the  ear,  on  the  forehead,  and  on  the  temple 
by  fingers  from  behind  the  curtain — while  the  hand  which 
touched  Professor  Richet  was  free  from  the  curtain.  The 
committee  state  in  their  report: 

"It  is  impossible  to  count  the  number  of  times  that  a  hand 
appeared  and  was  touched  by  one  of  us.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  doubt  was  no  longer  possible.  It  was  indeed  a  living, 
human  hand  which  we  saw  and  touched,  while  at  the  same 


Eusapia  Palladino  33 

time  the  bust  and  arms  of  the  medium  remained  visible,  and 
her  hands  were  held  by  those  on  either  side  of  her." 

The  committee  express  their  conviction  that  the  results 
obtained  in  the  light,  and  many  of  those  obtained  in  dark- 
ness, could  not  have  been  produced  by  trickery  of  any  kind. 
Professor  Richet,  who  did  not  sign  the  committee's  report, 
states  his  own  conclusions  as  follows: 

"Absurd  and  unsatisfactory  though  they  were,  it  seems 
to  me  very  difficult  to  attribute  the  phenomena  produced  to 
deception — conscious  or  unconscious — or  to  a  series  of  de- 
ceptions. Nevertheless,  conclusive  and  indisputable  proof 
that  there  was  no  fraud  upon  Eusapia's  part,  or  illusion  on 
our  part,  is  wanting — we  must  therefore  renew  our  efforts 
to  obtain  such  proof." 


§  3.  Experiments  at  Naples  and  at  St.  Petersburg — 1893 

As  a  result  of  the  publication  of  this  joint  report,  a  long 
series  of  experiments  was  conducted  by  scientific  men  in 
various  centers.  In  1893  a  series  was  held  in  Naples  under 
the  direction  of  Professor  Wagner,  Professor  of  Zoology  in 
the  University  of  St.  Petersburg;  In  Rome,  in  1893  and  1894, 
under  the  direction  of  M.  de  Siemiradski,  Correspondent  of 
the  Institute;  in  1893-4,  at  Warsaw,  at  the  house  of  Pro- 
fessor Ochorowicz;  in  1894,  ^t  Carquelranne,  at  the  house 
of  Professor  Richet,  and  on  the  ile  Roubaud,  under  the 
direction  of  Professor  Richet,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  Mr.  F.  W. 
H.  Myers,  and  Dr.  Ochorowicz;  in  1895,  at  Naples,  under 
Dr.  Paolo  VIsani-Scozzi,  Specialist  of  Nervous  Diseases,  at 
Florence;  and  at  Cambridge,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  F.  W.  H. 
Myers — these  sittings  being  shared  by  Professor  and  Mrs. 
Sidgwick,  Miss  Alice  Johnson,  Dr.  Richard  Hodgson,  and 


34  Eusapia  Palladino 

others;  in  1895,  at  I'Agnelas,  at  the  house  of  Colonel  de 
Rochas;  in  1896,  at  Tremezzo,  at  Auteuil,  and  at  Choisy- 
Yvrac;  in  1897,  ^^  Naples,  Rome,  Paris,  Montfort,  and 
Bordeaux;  in  1901-2,  at  the  Minerva  Club  at  Geneva;  in 
1905,  at  Rome  and  at  Paris — and  other  newer  investiga- 
tions, all  of  which  I  shall  summarize  more  or  less  completely 
in  the  pages  that  follow. 

Professor  Wagner  obtained,  apparently,  but  one  or  two 
seances — which  completely  convinced  him  of  the  genuine 
nature  of  the  phenomena;  but  there  is  reason  to  think  that 
Professor  Wagner  was  shortsighted,  and  in  other  ways  a 
poor  observer,  so  that  his  testimony,  such  as  it  is,  cannot  be 
given  great  weight.  As  the  result  of  these  seances,  how- 
ever. Professor  Wagner  induced  Eusapia  to  go  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, where  she  was  studied  by  him,  and  by  Professor  K 

(whose  name  is  not  given)  of  the  University  of  St.  Peters- 
burg— who  was  not  convinced  that  he  had  seen  any  genuine 
supernormal  phenomena.  It  is  probable,  from  the  account, 
however,  that  Professor  K was  more  or  less  hyper- 
critical. Thus,  he  would  not  believe  in  the  levitations  of  the 
table,  because  one  leg  touched  Eusapia's  skirt;  but,  as  I  have 
said  before.  Professor  Wagner's  testimony  cannot  be  given 
great  weight,  in  any  case,  and  need  not  be  given  more  fully 
in   this  place. 

§  4.  Experiments  in  Rome — 1893-4 

The  next  series  of  seances,  held  in  Rome  in  1893-4  under 
the  direction  of  M.  Siemiradski,  and  Dr.  Ochorowicz,  is 
far  more  interesting  and  convincing.  The  following  phe- 
nomena were  vouched  for: 

(i)   Movements  of  objects  without  contact. 


Eusapia  Palladino  35 

(2)  Touches  by  invisible  hands. 

(3)  Luminous  apparitions. 

(4)  Auditory  phenomena. 

The  light  during  the  first  set  of  manifestations  is  de- 
scribed as  being  very  good,  and  consisted  of  two  candles  and 
an  oil  lamp.  When  the  medium  was  in  trance,  the  same  phe- 
nomena were  produced  in  full  light. 

The  sitters  were  unanimous  in  saying  that  the  touches  by 
invisible  hands  were  certainly  not  hallucinatory.  They  were, 
they  assert,  objective  in  character,  beyond  all  doubt. 

The  investigators  are  also  certain  that  the  apparitions  seen 
by  them  were  not  hallucinatory,  since  the  forms  were  seen 
at  the  same  moment  and  described  in  similar  terms  by  all 
the  sitters.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  auditory  phenomena 
— raps,  etc. 

The  seances  in  Rome  in  1894  'were  attended  by  Professor 
Richet,  Baron  von  Schrenck-Notzing,  of  Munich,  Professor 
Lombroso,  Professor  Danilewski,  of  the  University  of  St. 
Petersburg,  and  Dr.  Dobrzycki,  director  of  the  Medical 
Gazette,  at  Warsaw.  Various  movements  of  objects  with- 
out contact  occurred,  and  on  af  least  one  occasion  it  would 
seem  that  an  "apport"  took  place,  which  is  described  as 
follows : 

"Hoping  to  obtain  the  movement  of  an  object  without 
contact,  we  placed  a  little  piece  of  paper  folded  in  the  form 
of  a  letter  A  under  a  glass,  and  upon  a  disk  of  light  paste- 
board. .  .  .  Not  being  successful  in  this,  we  did  not  wish 
to  fatigue  the  medium,  and  we  left  the  apparatus  upon  the 
large  table;  then  we  took  our  places  around  the  little  table, 
after  having  carefully  shut  all  the  doors,  the  keys  of  which 
I  begged  my  guests  to  put  in  their  pockets,  in  order  that  we 
might  not  be  accused  of  not  having  taken  all  necessary  pre- 
cautions. 


36  Eusapfa  Palladino 

"The  light  was  extinguished.  Soon  we  heard  the  glass 
resound  on  our  table,  and,  having  procured  a  light,  we  found 
it  in  the  midst  of  us,  in  the  same  position,  upside  down, 
and  covering  the  little  piece  of  paper;  only  the  cardboard  disk 
was  wanting.  We  sought  for  it  in  vain.  The  seance  ended ; 
I  conducted  my  guests  once  more  into  the  antechamber.  M. 
Richet  was  the  first  to  open  the  door — well  bolted  on  the 
inside.  What  was  not  his  surprise  when  he  perceived  near 
to  the  threshold  of  the  door,  on  the  other  side  of  it,  upon  the 
staircase,  the  disk  that  we  had  sought  for  so  long.  He 
picked  it  up ;  and  it  was  identified  by  all  as  the  card 
placed  under  the  glass." 


§  5.  Experiments  at  Warsaw — 1893-4 

Dr.  Ochorowicz,  having  became  greatly  interested  in  the 
phenomena  he  had  observed,  induced  Eusapia  to  come  to 
Warsaw,  in  order  to  be  studied  at  length  by  himself  and  his 
friends.  In  all,  forty  seances  were  held,  as  many  as  twenty 
persons  being  present  at  some  of  the  seances,  which  included 
a  number  of  men  and  women  eminent  in  science,  philosophy, 
and  letters.  Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  phenomena, 
therefore,  we  can,  under  such  circumstances,  hardly  con- 
clude that  the  observed  phenomena  were  hallucinatory  in 
character ! 

Partial  and  complete  levitations  of  the  table;  movements 
of  objects  without  contact  (witnessed  by  more  than  a  hun- 
dred persons)  ;  touches,  and  visible  hands  (seen  by  fifteen 
persons)  ;  levitations  of  the  medium  on  to  the  table  (witnessed 
by  five  persons)  ;  luminous  phenomena  (witnessed  by  thirteen 
persons)  ;  abnormal  marks,  etc.,  upon  paper  (witnessed  by 
twenty  persons)  ;  exteriorization  of  sensibility,  and  instances 
of  clairvoyance,  were  all  observed  at  this  series  of  seances. 

Dr.  Ochorowicz  observed  that  all  the  seances  began  and 


Eusapia  Palladino  37 

nearly  all  closed  with  levitations  of  the  table — even  though 
these  might  not  be  wanted!  He  cites  cases  in  which  levi- 
tations were  obtained  while  both  the  medium's  feet  were 
visible  in  the  light,  and  other  cases  in  which  the  feet  were 
tied  and  held  under  the  table  by  a  sitter,  kneeling  under  it. 

One  case  of  great  interest  is  given,  in  which  Eusapia  ap- 
proached her  finger  tips  to  within  a  few  centimeters  of  a 
small  bell,  that  had  been  suspended  by  means  of  a  thread 
from  a  metal  arch,  and,  moving  her  fingers  to  and  fro,  the 
bell  followed  their  movements,  "as  though  moved  by  an  in- 
visible thread."  It  is  not  definitely  stated,  however,  tliat  a 
thread  was  not  employed — though  the  hands  were  examined 
immediately  after  the  manifestation,  and  nothing  abnormal 
was  found  upon  them.  The  phenomenon  must  be  set  dov/n 
as  inconclusive,  though  it  should  be  recorded,  as  it  has  been 
produced  a  number  of  times  lately  under  test  conditions. 

On  January  7,  1894,  ^  seance  was  held  without  a  table, 
in  order  that  the  force  of  the  medium  might  not  be 
dispersed  in  mechanical  phenomena.  Eusapia  soon  went  into 
trance.     Speaking  in  the  name  of  "John,"  the  medium  said : 

"You  have  taken  away  the  table  in  order  that  you  may 
see  the  legs  of  the  medium!  Allez!  1  am  going  to  show  you 
that  I  do  everything  by  the  aid  of  the  medium's  legs!" 

"Saying  this,  Eusapia  extended  her  legs,  and  laid  her  feet 
on  the  knees  of  Professor  Prus-Glowacki.  The  medium,  then 
said:  'Look,  I  knock  the  table  with  my  left  leg.'  At  the 
same  time  she  struck  the  knee  of  M.  Prus-Glov/acki  with 
her  left  foot ;  and  simultaneously  strong  blows  resounded  be- 
hind the  curtain,  very  like  those  which  would  be  given  by 
the  leg  striking  against  the  table,  which  was  in  the  cabinet, 
against  the  wall,  two  meters  from  her." 

Instances  are  then  given  of  levitations  of  the  medium, 
which  Dr.  Ochorowicz  considers  undoubted,  luminous  phc- 


J*'  ;y  O  ^    / 


38  Eusapia  Palladino 

nomena,  touchings  (during  some  of  which  both  of  Eusapia's 
hands  were  held  by  one  sitter),  materializations  of  hands, 
various  abnormal  marks,  cold  wind,  etc.  Several  impro- 
vised or  "unofficial"  seances  were  also  held,  which.  Dr. 
Ochorowicz  informs  us,  "strangely  enough,  restore  the 
forces" — while  the  official  seances,  held  under  strict,  scien- 
tific conditions,  only  irritated  the  medium  and  exhausted 
them. 

Dr.  Ochorowicz  concluded  that  the  objective  character 
of  the  facts  was  proved  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt;  and  that 
genuine  supernormal  phenomena  were  observed.  As  to  their 
interpretation,  that  is  another  matter!  He  is  inclined  to  the 
belief  that  John  is  not  a  real  person,  but  is  a  "subliminal 
creation  of  the  medium" — a  sort  of  reflex  of  her  unconscious 
thinking,  which  has  the  capacity  of  externalizing  itself  in 
space,  and  producing  real,  objective  effects  in  the  physical 
world.  However,  we  shall  come  to  this  in  the  chapter  de- 
voted to  theories. 


§  6.  Experiments  at  He  Roubaud — 1894 

In  Jul}',  1894,  ^  series  of  four  seances  was  held  in  Pro- 
fessor Richet's  house,  on  the  ile  Roubaud.  These  sittings 
were  held  by  Professor  Charles  Richet,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge, 
Mr.  F.  W.  H.  Myers,  and  Dr.  Ochorowicz.  The  island  was 
owned  by  Professor  Richet,  and  inasmuch  as  the  sittings  oc- 
curred in  his  own  house  with  doors  and  windows  locked,  when 
all  the  servants  had  retired,  it  seemed  conclusive  to  the  inves- 
tigators that  confederates  of  any  sort  were  excluded. 

It  is  unnecessary  in  this  place  to  give  a  resume  of  Pro- 
fessor Lodge's  report,  which  deals  with  general  subjects  al- 
ready familiar  to  students  of  Eusapia's  sittings,   and  which 


Eusapia  Palladino  39 

have  been  covered  more  or  less  thoroughly  in  this  volume 
already.  Explanations  were  offered  of  the  various  instru- 
ments and  paraphernalia  employed,  a  summary  of  the  phe- 
nomena given,  and  lengthy  discussions  on  the  various  possi- 
ble explanations — fraud,   illusion,  hallucination,  etc. 

Dealing  with  the  question  of  fraud,  Dr.  Lodge  offered 
the  following  remarks,  which  I  think  further  investigations 
have  full}^  warranted  and  justified. 

"I  happen  to  have  had  only  good  sittings  with  Eusapia, 
and  my  own  experience  of  what  was  likely  to  happen  in  the 
others  was  based  upon  what  happened  when  she  was  not  en- 
tranced at  all.  Judging  from  that  experience,  I  thought  it 
not  unlikely  that  she  may  sometimes  somnambulicly  attempt 
to  achieve  effects  which  she  thinks  desired,  in  what  may 
readily  appear  a  fraudulent  manner.  Later  experience  with 
sittings  of  a  less  uniformly  successful  character,  though  it 
has  not  so  far  verified  that  conjecture,  leads  me  to  supple- 
ment it  with  the  further  opinions,  ( i )  that  it  must  be  pos- 
sible, by  sufficient  precaution,  to  check  such  attempts,  even  if 
made;  and  (2)  that  if  undue  latitude  were  given,  it  would 
be  reasonable  to  expect  some  such  attempt  sooner  or  later. 
.  .  .  All  danger  of  unfair  accusation  will  be  avoided  if  sit- 
ters will  only  have  the  common  sense  to  treat  her  not  as  a 
scientific  person  engaged  in  a  demonstration,  but  as  a  deli- 
cate piece  of  apparatus,  wherewith  they  themselves  are  mak- 
ing an  investigation.  She  is  an  instrument,  whose  ways  and 
idiosyncrasies  must  be  learned,  and  to  a  certain  extent 
humored,  just  as  one  studies  and  humors  the  ways  of  some 
much  less  delicate  piece  of  physical  apparatus  turned  out  by 
a  skilled  instrument  maker." 

Various  points  of  interest  were  discussed,  showing  the  ef- 
fect of  light  on  the  plicnomena,  the  nature  of  the  objects 
moved,  the  source  of  the  energ}%  the  seat  of  the  reaction, 
and  the  study  of  the  sympathetic  movements  of  the  medium. 


40  Eusapia  Palladino 

Parts  of  these  passages  I  have  quoted  elsewhere.  In  a  sum- 
mary and  conclusion,  Dr.  Lodge  stated  his  position  as  fol- 
lows: 

"However  the  facts  are  to  be  explained,  the  possibility  of 
the  facts  I  am  constrained  to  admit.  There  is  no  further 
room  in  my  mind  for  doubt.  Any  person  without  invincible 
prejudice  who  had  had  the  same  experience,  would  have 
come  to  the  same  broad  conclusion,  viz. :  That  things  hither- 
to held  impossible  do  actually  occur.  If  one  such  fact  is 
clearly  established,  the  conceivability  of  others  may  be  more 
readily  granted,  and  I  concentrated  my  attention  mainly  on 
what  seemed  to  me  the  most  simple  and  definite  thing,  viz.: 
the  movement  of  an  untouched  object,  in  sufficient  light 
for  no  doubt  of  its  motion  to  exist.  This  I  have  now  wit- 
nessed several  times;  the  fact  of  movement  being  vouched  for 
by  both  sight  and  hearing,  sometimes  also  by  touch,  and  the 
objectivity  of  the  phenomena  being  demonstrated  by  the 
sounds  heard  by  an  outside  observer,  and  by  permanent  alter- 
ation and  position  of  object.  .  .  .  Instead  of  action  at  a  dis- 
tance in  the  physical  sense,  what  I  have  observed  may  be  said 
to  be  more  like  vitality  at  a  distance — the  action  of  a  living 
organism  exerted  in  unusual  directions  and  over  a  range 
greater  than  the  ordinary.  .  .  .  The  effect  on  an  observer  is 
usually  more  as  if  the  connecting  link,  if  any,  were  invisible 
and  intangible,  or  as  if  a  portion  of  vital  or  directing  energy 
had  been  detached,  and  were  producing  distant  movements 
without  apparent  connection  with  the  medium.  .  .  .  The  re- 
sult of  my  experience  is  to  convince  me  that  certain  phe- 
nomena usually  considered  abnormal  do  belong  to  the  order 
of  nature,  and,  as  a  corollary  to  this,  that  these  phenomena 
ought  to  be  investigated  and  recorded  by  persons  and  societies 
interested  in  natural  knowledge."  (p.  360  Journal  S.  P.  R., 
Nov.,  1894.) 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  meeting  at  which  Dr.  Lodge's 
paper  was  read,  Mr.  Myers,  and  Professor  and  Mrs.  Sidgwick, 
offered  corroborative  testimony  of  Dr.  Lodge's  position,  and 


Eusapia  Palladino  41 

Sir  William  Crookes  rose  to  point  out  the  similarities  be- 
tween Eusapia's  phenomena  and  many  of  those  he  had  wit- 
nessed in  the  presence  of  D.  D,  Home.  Some  of  his  remarks 
are  worthy  of  quoting  in  this  connection — affording,  as  they 
do,  strong  confirmatory  evidence  of  the  reality  of  these  phe- 
nomena.    He  said: 

"When  he  (Home)  was  not  in  a  state  of  trance,  we  fre- 
quently had  movements  of  objects  from  different  parts  of  the 
room,  with  visible  hands  carr}-ing  flowers  about,  and  play- 
ing the  accordion.  On  one  occasion  I  was  asked  by  Home 
to  look  at  the  accordion  as  it  was  playing  in  the  semidark- 
ness  beneath  the  table.  I  saw  a  delicate-looking  female  hand 
holding  it  by  the  handle,  and  the  keys  at  the  lower  :end  rising 
and  falling,  as  if  fingers  were  playing  on  them,  although  I 
could  not  see  them.  So  lifelike  was  the  hand  that  at  first  I 
said  it  was  my  sister-in-law's,  but  was  assured  by  all  present 
that  both  her  hands  were  on  the  table,  a  fact  which  1  then 
verified  for  myself. 

"The  best  cases  of  Home's  levitation  I  witnessed  were  in 
my  own  house.  On  one  occasion  he  went  to  a  clear  part  of  tlie 
room,  and,  after  standing  quietly  for  a  minute,  told  us  he 
was  rising.  I  saw  him  rise  up  with  a  continuous  gliding 
movement  and  remained  about  six  inches  off  the  ground  for 
several  seconds,  when  he  slowly  descended.  On  this  occa- 
sion no  one  moved  from  their  places.  On  another  occa- 
sion, I  was  invited  to  come  to  him  when  he  rose  eighteen 
inches  off  the  ground,  and  I  passed  my  hands  under  his  feet, 
round  him,  and  over  his  head  when  he  was  in  the  air. 

"On  several  occasions  Home  and  the  chair  on  which  he 
was  sitting  at  the  table  rose  off  the  ground.  This  was  gen- 
erally done  very  deliberately,  and  Home  sometimes  then 
tucked  up  his  feet  on  the  seat  of  the  chair,  and  held  up  his 
hands  in  view  of  all  of  us.  On  such  an  occasion  I  have  got 
down,  and  seen  and  felt  that  all  four  legs  were  off  the  ground 
at  the  same  time,  Home's  feet  being  on  the  chair.  Less  fre- 
quently the  levitating  power  extended  to  those  sitting  next 


42  Eusapia  Palladino 

to  him.  Once  my  wife  was  thus  raised  off  the  ground  in 
her  chair.  .  .  . 

"One  of  the  most  common  occurrences  at  the  seances  con- 
sisted in  movements  of  flowers  and  light  objects;  sometimes 
those  present  could  see  fingers  or  a  complete  hand  carrying 
things  about,  but  frequently  no  visible  support  was  to  be 
detected.  The  hands  felt  warm  and  lifelike,  and  if  retained, 
would  appear  to  melt  away  in  one's  grasp.  They  were  never 
dragged  away. 

"One  of  the  most  striking  things  I  ever  saw  in  the  way  of 
movement  of  light  objects  was  when  a  glass  water  bottle  and 
tumbler  rose  from  the  table.  There  was  plenty  of  light  in 
the  room  from  two  large  salted  alcohol  flames,  and  Home's 
hands  were  not  near.  The  bottle  and  glass  floated  about 
over  the  middle  of  the  table,  I  asked  if  they  would  answer 
questions  by  knocking  one  against  the  other.  Immediately 
three  taps  together  signified  'Yes.'  They  then  kept  floating 
about  six  or  eight  inches  up,  going  from  the  front  of  one 
sitter  to  another,  round  the  table,  tapping  together,  and 
answering  questions  in  this  manner.  Quite  five  minutes  was 
occupied  by  this  phenomenon,  during  which  time  we  had 
ample  opportunity  of  seeing  that  Home  was  a  passive  agent, 
and  that  no  wires  or  strings,  etc.,  were  in  use.  ...  I 
never  noticed  any  sj'mpathetic  movements  of  Home's  hands 
or  body  when  objects  at  a  distance  were  being  moved.  I 
am  certain  that  in  most  cases  when  Home  was  not  in  a 
trance  he  knew  no  more  of  what  was  going  to  happen  than 
did  anyone  else  present.  He  was  an  excellent  raconteur,  and 
by  no  means  kept  silent.  Frequently  he  was  looking  another 
way,  engaged  in  animated  conversation  with  someone  at  his 
side  when  the  first  movements  took  place,  and  his  attention 
had  to  be  called  to  them,  like  the  rest  of  us.  He  took  a 
childlike  pleasure  in  what  was  going  on,  and  he  always  de- 
clared that  he  had  no  power  whatever  over  the  progress  of 
the  phenomena. 

"General  conversation  was  going  on  all  the  time,  and  on 
many  occasions  something  on  the  table  had  moved  sometime 
before  Home  was  aware  of  it.  We  had  to  draw  his  atten- 
tion to  such  things  far  oftener  than  he  drew  our  attention 


Eusapia  Palladino  43 

to  them.  Indeed,  he  sometimes  used  to  annoy  me  by  his  in- 
difference to  what  was  going  on.  When  things  were  going 
on  well,  ample  opportunity  was  generally  given  us  to  ex- 
amine the  occurrences  at  leisure,  and  frequently  things  would 
repeat  themselves  at  request,  or  small  objects,  flowers,  etc., 
would  move  abcfut  for  many  minutes,  passing  from  one  to 
the  other  of  those  present.  For  my  part  I  was  always  al- 
lowed to  move  about  and  examine  what  was  taking  place 
as  carefully  as  I  liked.  All  that  we  were  asked  was  that 
we  sh.ould  not  move  suddenly.  This  was  liable  to  stop  the 
phenomena  for  a  short  time. 

"The  drawback  to  accurate  observation  of  Eusapia's  phe- 
nomena appears  to  have  been  the  very  dim  light  in  which 
most  of  the  things  occurred,  rendering  it  necessary  to  take 
special  precautions  against  possible  deception.  Had  the  light 
been  better,  the  elaborate  holding  of  hands,  feet,  and  head 
would  have  been  unnecessary,  and  the  unavoidable  suspi- 
cions that  the  person  on  the  other  side  had  liberated  a  hand 
would  have  been  impossible.  Home  always  refused  to  sit  in 
the  dark.  He  said  that  with  firmness  and  perseverance  the 
phenomena  could  be  got  just  as  well  in  the  light,  and  even 
if  some  of  the  things  were  not  so  strong,  the  evidence  of  one's 
eyesight  w^as  worth  making  some  sacrifice  for.  In  almost 
all  the  seances  I  had  with  Home,  there  was  plenty  of  light 
to  see  all  that  occurred,  and  not  only  enabled  me  to  write 
down  notes  of  what  was  taking  place,  but  to  read  my  notes 
without  difficult5^  .  .  . 

"During  the  whole  of  my  knowledge  of  D.  D.  Home,  ex- 
tending over  several  years,  I  never  once  saw  the  slightest  oc- 
currence that  would  make  me  suspicious  that  he  was  attempt- 
ing to  play  tricks.  He  was  scrupulously  sensitive  on  this 
point,  and  never  felt  hurt  at  anyone  taking  precautions 
against  deception.  He  sometimes  in  the  early  days  of  our 
acquaintance  used  to  say  to  me  before  a  seance :  'Now,  Will- 
iam, I  want  you  to  act  as  if  I  were  a  recognized  conjurer, 
and  was  going  to  cheat  you  and  play  all  the  tricks  I  could. 
Take  every  precaution  you  can  devise  against  me,  and  move 
about,  and  look  under  the  table,  or  where  else  you  like. 
Don't  consider  my  feelings ;  I  shall  not  be  offended.    I  know 


44  Eusapia  Palladino 

that  the  more  carefully  I  am  tested,  the  more  convinced  will 
everyone  be  that  these  abnormal  occurrences  are  not  my  own 
doings.' 

"I  think  it  a  cruel  thing  that  a  man  like  D.  D.  Home, 
gifted  with  such  extraordinary  powers,  and  always  willing, 
nay,  anxious,  to  place  himself  at  the  disposal  of  men  of  science 
for  investigation,  should  have  lived  so  many  years  in  London, 
and  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  no  one  of  weight  in  the 
scientific  world  should  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  look 
into  the  truth  or  falsity  of  things,  which  were  being  talked 
about  in  society  on  all  sides.  To  those  who  knew  him, 
Home  was  one  of  the  most  lovable  of  men,  and  his  perfect 
genuineness  and  uprightness  were  beyond  suspicion ;  but  by 
those  who  did  not  know  him,  he  was  called  a  charlatan,  and 
those  who  believed  in  him  were  considered  little  better  than 
lunatics !" 

To  return,  however,  to  Professor  Lodge's  report  upon 
Eusapia  Palladino,  which  the  above  extended  quotation  is 
merely  to  support,  I  now  extract  from  the  detailed  records 
of  sittings,  printed  as  Appendix  I,  to  his  paper: 

The  first  seance,  which  took  place  on  July  2 1st,  com- 
menced at  9.36  P.M.  Tilts,  levitations,  and  protuber- 
ances of  Eusapia's  dress  were  noted,  followed  by  raps — all 
these  in  good  light.  These  were  followed  by  a  series  of 
touches  on  the  back  and  sides  of  the  controllers.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  the  records  cannot  fail  to  be  of  in- 
terest : 

"10.24.  Light  lowered  more.  M.^  held  both  hands  in 
the  air;  L.  held  her  head,  and  each  held  one  foot.  M. 
was  again  distinctly  touched  in  the  back. 

"11.34.  L.,  holding  both  hands  of  E.,  was  distinctly 
touched  as  by  a  hand  on  the  shoulder  and  back  of  head.  The 
hairj'  mass  again  felt  by  him. 

^  In  all  seances   of   this  series,  M  =  Myers,  L  =  Lodge,  R  =  Richet,  and  0=" 
Ochorowicz. 


Eusapia  Palladino  45 

"11.36.  M.'s  chair  was  again  drawn  from  under  him, 
and  put  on  the  middle  of  the  table,  and  M.  remained  stand- 
ing. The  large  table  drew  nearer.  Hands  and  feet  of  E. 
well  held." 

After  lights  had  been  seen,  and  further  touches  had  been 
experienced,  the  record  proceeds: 

"12.04.  M-  and  L.,  each  holding  one  of  E.'s  hands  firmly 
in  the  air,  R.'s  hand  was  strongly  grasped,  and  held,  as  by 
a  hand,  while  thirty-one  was  counted.  At  request  of  L.,  the 
large  table  then  turned  itself  over  on  its  back  behind  M., 
and  was  left  with  its  feet  in  the  air. 

"A  light  was  now  struck,  and  the  under  surface  of  table 
(now  turned  upward)  was  examined  for  marks.  Nothing 
was  found  except  joiner's  lines,  which  had  been  there  be- 
fore. The  table  was  now  half  raised  so  that  its  legs  were 
now  horizontal,  and  its  upper  surface  showed  at  once  a 
large  blue  scrawl.  .  .  .  There  was  now  full  light,  and  the 
seance  was  understood  to  have  stopped,  but  E.  asked  for  a 
blue  pencil,  and  when  one  was  found  and  given  her  she  pro- 
ceeded to  cover  the  tip  of  her  forefinger  with  blue  chalk. 
She  then  gave  this  finger  to  R.  to  hold,  and  with  it  extended, 
she  walked  up  to  the  vertically  standing  top  surface  of  the 
large  table,  and  made  near,  but  not  touching  it,  a  couple  of 
quick  cross  marks  in  the  air.  The  blue  had  then  disappeared 
from  her  finger,  and  two  large  blue  crosses,  sharply  drawn, 
not  as  with  finger  tip,  were  found  on  the  back,  or  far  side 
of  the  table,  namely,  on  one  of  the  side  boards  of  the  under 
side,  which  had  been  just  previously  examined  for  such 
marks.  There  was  no  fresh  mark  on  the  surface  in  front  of 
which  she  had  made  the  gestures." 

At  12.35  tlie  seance  was  resumed,  and  while  R.  was  holding 
one  hand  of  E.,  and  while  M.  held  both  feet  and  her  other 
hand,  R.  felt  a  hand  move  over  his  head  and  rest  on  his 
mouth  for  some  seconds,  during  which  he  spoke  to  the  other 


46  Eusapia  Palladino 

investigators  with  his  voice  muffled.    A  series  of  remarkable 
phenomena  occurred  at  12.49,  which  were  recorded  thus: 

"A  small  cigar  box  fell  onto  our  table,  and  a  sound  was 
heard  in  the  air  as  of  something  rapping.  R.  was  holding 
head  and  right  hand ;  M.  holding  left  hand,  raised  it  in  the 
air,  holding  it  lightly  by  the  tips  of  his  fingers,  but  with  part 
of  his  own  hand  free.  A  saucer  containing  small  shot,  from 
another  part  of  the  room,  was  then  put  into  this  hand  of  M. 
in  the  air.  A  covered  wire  of  the  electric  battery  came  onto 
the  table  and  wrapped  itself  round  R.'s  and  E.'s  hands  and 
was  pulled  till  E.  called  out.  Henceforth,  R.  held  her  head 
and  body;  M.  kept  one  hand  and  both  feet,  while  L.  held  the 
other  hand,  and  in  this  position  E.  made  several  spasmodic 
movements,  each  of  which  was  accompanied  or  followed  by 
violent  movements  of  the  neighboring  round  table. 

"12.57.  The  accordion,  which  was  on  the  round  table, 
got  onto  the  floor,  somehow,  and  began  to  play  single  notes, 
Bellier  (the  stenographer)  counted  twenty-six  of  them,  and 
then  ceased  counting.  While  the  accordion  played,  E.'s 
fingers  made  movements  in  the  hands  of  both  M.  and  L.,  in 
accord  with  the  notes,  as  if  she  were  playing  them  at  the 
distance  with  difficulty.  The  lightly  touched  quick  notes 
were  also  thus  felt  by  L.  with  singular  precision,  sometimes 
the  touch  failed  to  elict  a  response,  and  this  failure  was 
usually  succeeded  by  an  interval  of  silence  and  rest." 

After  these  phenomena,  the  small  chalet  or  music  box, 
which  was  on  the  round  table,  began  to  play,  approached 
visibly,  being  seen  coming  through  the  air  by  M.  and  L.,  and 
rested  on  the  seance  table.  It  got  onto  the  floor;  finally 
Professor  Richet  said:  "Enough  of  that  music!"  It  then 
stopped,  "probably,"  the   report  says,  "because   run  down." 

Various  touches,  under  good  conditions  of  control,  ended 
the  seance ;  afterwards,  however.  Professor  Richet,  when  un- 
dressing, found  upon  his  shirt  front,  which  had  been  covered 


Eusapia  Palladino  47 

by  a  flannel  jacket,  and  a  high  white  waistcoat,  a  blue 
scrawl,  clearly  defined.  Just  before  the  seance  had  termi- 
nated, Eusapia  had  taken  one  of  Mr.  Myers'  fingers  and 
with  it  executed  a  scrawl  outside  Richet's  flannel  jacket, 
which  was  buttoned  up  to  the  neck.  It  will  be  observed  that 
several  times  during  this  seance  phenomena  were  obtained 
when  both  of  Eusapia's  hands  were  held  by  the  same  con- 
troller. 

The  second  sitting  occurred  two  days  later  under  virtu- 
ally the  same  conditions.  After  various  minor  phenomena, 
the  chalet  wound  itself  up  and,  playing,  descended  to  the 
floor.  It  ran  down,  and  stopped  playing,  but  while  still  on 
the  floor,  it  wound  itself  up  again,  and  rose  onto  the  table 
once  more,  playing  as  it  came.  Eusapia's  hands  and  head 
were  well  held,  and  her  feet  had  been  placed  in  a  wooden 
apparatus,  so  constructed  that,  if  she  lifted  either  of  them, 
an  electric  bell  would  ring  immediately,  showing  that  they 
had  been  removed.     The  report  continues: 

"L.  was  then  permitted  to  hold  both  arms  and  both  feet 
(the  foot  apparatus  being  removed),  and  he  was  then  touched 
twice  on  the  back,  and  grasped  distinctly  on  the  left  arm. 
E.  then  held  up  one  of  L.'s  hands,  and  with  it  made  two 
small  movements,  and  at  each  movement  a  chair  not  far 
distant  grated  along  the  floor,  as  if  pushed  or  pulled." 

Various  touches  and  levitations  ended  the  seance. 

The  third  sitting  took  place  two  evenings  later  under  the 
same  conditions.  After  various  minor  phenomena,  including 
the  production  of  scent,  had  been  observed,  the  large  table 
was  violently  dragged  about,  and  raps  heard  upon  it. 
Touches  and  grasps  by  hands  were  then  experienced  by  the 
sitters.  The  following  phenomenon,  which  must  be  regarded 
as  remarkable,  then  took  place: 


48  Eusapia  Palladino 

"While  L.  held  both  the  medium's  hands  on  the  table, 
and  also  her  head,  leaning  over  onto  him,  away  from  the 
chalet,  and  while  Richet  held  both  her  feet,  the  suspended 
chalet  was  heard  to  be  wound  partially  up  three  times,  with 
three  pauses,  taking  four  seconds  in  all,  as  heard  and  recorded 
by  Bellier.  (The  chalet  had  been  suspended  from  the  ceiling 
quite  beyond  Eusapia's  reach.)  It  did  not  now  begin  to 
play,  but  began  to  flap,  as  if  its  doors  were  trying  to  open. 
Soon  it  began  to  play,  and  raps  were  heard  on  it.  While 
it  played,  Eusapia's  hands  waved  L.'s  hands  in  the  air,  in  time 
with  the  music.  It  was  immediately  rewound,  and  went 
on  playing  sometime.  While  this  was  going  on  the  chalet 
began  to  swing,  and  the  string  was  heard  to  break,  but  in- 
stead of  dropping  onto  the  floor,  the  chalet  was  gently  placed 
on  M.'s  head,  and  thence  onto  the  table.  This  phenomenon 
occurred  under  quite  satisfactory  conditions." 

Professor  Lodge  was  told  to  hold  one  hand  loosely  against 
the  skirt  of  Eusapia,  still  holding  her  two  hands  with  the 
other,  and  he  then  felt  his  hands  gripped  quickly  several 
times,  as  by  a  hand  through  her  dress.  He  had  also  several 
distinct  hand  grasps,  as  by  a  bare  hand,  coming  from  E.'s 
shoulder,  both  her  real  hands  being  at  the  time  completely 
in  his  control.  He  did  not  succeed  in  grasping  one  of  these 
pseudo-hands,  though  other  observers  did  on  other  occasions. 
"Attempt  was  now  made  to  prolong  one  of  these  pressures. 
A  hand  was  felt  on  M.'s  back,  and  he  began  counting  seconds, 
when  it  slapped  audibly,  and  disappeared.  Observation  made 
in  light  as  to  the  correct  holding  of  Eusapia's  real  hands." 

After  the  seance  had  been  concluded,  the  following  inter- 
esting phenomenon  occurred: 

"The  clean  finger  nail  of  Professor  Richet,  held  by  Eusapia, 
was  made  to  act  as  a  blue  crayon,  and  to  leave  a  thick,  blue 
pencil  mark,  when  drawn  thus  along  white  paper,  in  full 
candle  light.     This  was  done  several  times,  and  the  forma- 


Eusapia  Palladino  49 

tion  of  the  last  two  of  these  marks  was  closely  watched  by 
all  in  the  light  close  to  a  candle.  It  appeared  to  L.  as  if  the 
blue  did  not  appear  directly  under  the  nail,  but  slightly  to 
one  side,  as  if  some  invisible  protrusion  from  the  fingers  of 
Eusapia  (which  themselves  were  about  half  an  inch  off  the 
paper)  were  really  producing  it,  but  he  does  not  vouch  for 
this  detail,  and  only  records  it  as  a  memorandum  for  future 
observation.  [The  paper  was  certainly  clean  beforehand, 
and  the  marks  could  be  seen  being  formed.]" 

The  fourth  seance  was  held  under  virtually  the  same  con- 
ditions, on  the  evening  of  the  next  day.  Loud  raps  were 
heard  on  the  square  table  adjoining  the  seance  table,  and 
lights  were  seen  several  times  by  L.  and  M.  An  arm  chair 
was  made  to  move  several  inches  in  various  directions,  the 
light  being  good,  and  the  chair  at  least  four  feet  from  Eusa- 
pia, there  being  a  space  visible  to  all  between  the  chair  and 
her  body.  The  window  curtain,  five  feet  away,  then  swelled 
out,  and  a  large  face,  visible  twenty  or  thirty  seconds,  was 
observed  close  to  the  window.  Professor  Richet  was  grasped 
by  a  large  hand,  he  at  the  time  holding  both  hands  of 
Eusapia.  Mr.  Myers'  wallet  of  books  and  papers,  weighing 
twelve  pounds,  was  lifted  from  the  floor  onto  the  table.  The 
following  important  phenomenon  then  occurred: 

"Noise,  as  of  key  being  fumbled  in  the  door,  and  Ochoro- 
wicz,  from  outside,  asked  who  was  luilocking  the  door.  Eusa- 
pia's  hands  were  well  held,  and  no  one  was  near  the  door. 
The  clear  space  of  several  feet,  near  the  door,  was  plainly 
enough  visible.  Blows  occurred  on  the  door.  The  key  then 
arrived  on  the  table,  and  was  felt  there  by  L.  It  disappeared 
again,  and  was  heard  to  be  replacing  itself  in  the  door,  with 
a  sound  as  of  the  door  being  locked  (or  unlocked)  ;  then  the 
key  came  again  onto  the  table,  into  Richet's  hand,  and  stayed 
there.  [At  the  beginning  of  the  seance,  the  door  had  been 
locked,  and  at  the  end  it  was  still  locked.    Judging  by  sound, 


50  Eusapia  Palladino 

it  had  probably  been  unlocked  and  locked  again  during  this 
episode.    The  door  certainly  remained  shut  all  the  time.] 

"Richet  saw  an  indistinct,  black,  square-looking  object, 
which  seemed  to  prolong  the  key  when  it  was  brought  toward 
his  hand.  There  was  light  enough  to  see  the  position  of 
everybody's  normal  hands  all  the  time  on  this  occasion,  and 
we  were  sitting  some  four  or  five  feet  distant  from  the  door. 
[It  was  a  perfectly  distinct  phenomenon.] 

"Richet  next  saw  something  detached,  like  a  bird  in  the 
air,  going  to  M.'s  head.  At  the  instant  he  saw  it  touch,  M. 
called  out  that  he  was  touched  on  the  head. 

"L.,  R.,  and  M.  then  all  saw  the  curious  imitation  hand,  or 
feather  fingers,  stretched  horizontally  over  the  vertical  gap 
between  the  half-open  shutters;  a  thing  which  L.  had  sev- 
eral times  seen  before. 

"M.  was  seized  from  behind  while  standing,  and  vigor- 
ously pulled  and  shaken  about,  while  all  four  were  standing, 
holding  hands  around  the  table.  L.  saw  him  moving,  and 
felt  a  transmitted  pull.  A  loaf,  and  other  objects,  from  the 
buffet,  hard  by,  arrived  on  the  table,  and  a  pile  of  five  plates. 
Our  small  table  was  in  front  of  the  buffet.  Everybody  was 
now  standing  up,  and  observers  were  getting  tired,  so  we 
asked  to  stop ;  but  agency  insisted  on  continuing.  Statement 
made  that  the  medium  needed  refreshment,  but  the  agency 
said  it  could  see  to  that.  A  gurgling  noise  was  heard,  as 
if  the  medium  was  drinking  from  a  bottle,  and  directly  after- 
wards a  decanter  with  water,  which  had  been  on  the  top  shelf 
of  the  buffet,  arrived  on  the  table.  Then  it  rose  again  to 
the  medium's  mouth,  where  it  was  felt  horizontally  by  Richet, 
and  again  she  drank.  It  then  came  again  onto  the  table,  and 
stayed  there." 

After  the  seance  had  been  concluded,  the  medium  was 
conducted  to  a  writing  desk  in  a  corner  of  the  room.  She 
made  three  movements  with  her  hand,  and  the  desk  was 
tilted  backward,  after  an  interval  of  a  second  or  two.  She 
moved  farther  away  and  repeated  the  action,  and  the  same 
movement  of  the  desk  occurred,  but  with  more  delay.    When 


Eusapia  Palladino  51 

standing  two  meters  from  the  desk,  she  did  the  same  thing, 
and  the  desk  again  tilted,  but  not  until  two  seconds  after  the 
motion  made  by  her  hand. 

Appendix  II  to  Professor  Lodge's  paper  consists  in  a  list 
of  appliances  that  would  be  needed  for  a  psychical  laboratory. 
Their  uses  are  also  pointed  out.  Thus,  a  registering  balance 
would  be  necessary,  to  test  losses  and  gains  in  the  weight  of 
medium,  before,  during,  and  after  seances.  A  clock,  ther- 
mometer, and  barometer  would  be  essential,  and  instruments 
for  recording  the  medium's  temperature,  muscular  exertion, 
pulse,  breathing,  etc. ;  and  these  should  all  be  registered  au- 
tomatically by  apparatus  outside  the  room.  Means  for  ob- 
taining graphic  records  should,  therefore,  be  supplied.  Special 
chairs  and  tables  should  be  provided;  and  the  method  of 
graphic  record  should  be  applied  to  registering  levitations  of 
the  table.  Elaborate  arrangements  for  variations  of  the 
amount  of  light  should  be  made,  and,  if  possible,  means  should 
be  invented  for  obtaining  a  number  of  photographs  secretly 
from  without  the  room.  A  number  of  cameras  should  be  • 
operated  simultaneously  through  various  openings,  and  the 
room  might  be  flooded  with  invisible,  ultraviolet  light — suf- 
ficient to  obtain  photographs,  but  which  would  be  unknown 
to  the  medium.  Other  devices,  such  as  smoked  surfaces,  wet 
clay,  etc.,  for  obtaining  an  imprint  of  the  hands,  should  also 
be  provided,  together  with  such  additional  instruments  and 
appliances  as  future  experiments  and  experience  might  sug- 
gest. 

§  7.  Experiments  at  Cambridge — 1895 

When  this  Report  was  issued.  Dr.  Richard  Hodgson,  then 
Secretary  of  the  S.  P.  R.  for  America,  challenged  the  conclu- 
sive nature  of  the  sittings,  and  pointed  out  what,  in  his  esti- 


52  Eusapia  Palladino 

mation,  were  numerous  defects  in  the  record — showing  that 
it  might  have  been  possible,  on  some  occasions,  for  the  me- 
dium to  have  resorted  to  trickery.  He  suggested  various  ways 
by  which  Eusapia  might  have  released  one  hand  or  one  foot. 
He  contended  that  the  holding  was  not  sufficiently  described, 
and  suggested  substitution  of  dummy  hands  and  feet  instead 
of  those  held  by  the  sitters.  The  actual  detail  of  the  hand 
and  foot  holding  was,  he  contended,  the  essential  feature,  and 
this  was  insufficiently  described.  As  to  the  levitations  of  the 
table,  Dr.  Hodgson  suggested  that  they  might  have  been  ac- 
complished by  means  of  a  hook  inserted  under  its  edge,  and 
attached  to  a  strap  passing  over  Eusapia's  shoulders.  Other 
critical  remarks  of  a  general  nature  were  also  made. 

This  criticism  by  Dr.  Hodgson  elicited  four  replies — one 
from  each  of  the  four  investigators.  They  were  unanimous 
in  declaring  that,  while  Dr.  Hodgson's  paper  was  remark- 
able, and  his  criticisms  excellent,  and  while  they  admitted 
that  further  precautions  of  the  kind  suggested  by  him  should 
be  taken  in  future,  they  contended  that  Dr.  Hodgson's 
explanations  did  not  explain  all  the  phenomena  witnessed  by 
them;  nor,  indeed,  any  larger  portion  of  them.  Reviewing 
the  seances  in  detail,  it  was  found  that  some  of  Dr.  Hodg- 
son's criticisms  were  unjustified,  and  that,  for  example,  where 
he  had  said  that  both  of  Eusapia's  hands  were  not  accounted 
for  on  any  particular  occasion,  they  were  in  fact  amply  ac- 
counted for  on  a  number  of  occasions,  while  in  two  or  three 
instances,  both  her  hands  were  held  in  the  hands  of  one  in- 
vestigator. Dr.  Lodge  in  his  reply  insisted  upon  this  point, 
and  he  had  the  support  of  Professor  Richet  and  Dr.  Ochoro- 
wicz,  as  well  as  Mr.  Myers,  whose  reply  was  the  most  de- 
tailed. 

In  spite  of  these  replies,  however,  Dr.  Hodgson  apparently 


Eusapia  Palladino  53 

remained  skeptical,  and  the  result  of  the  disagreement  was 
that  both  Eusapia  and  Dr.  Hodgson  were  invited  to  Eng- 
land, and  a  series  of  experiments,  since  famous,  and  styled 
the  "Cambridge  Experiments,"  were  held  in  the  house  of 
Mr.  Myers,  in  August  and  September,  1895.  The  results  of 
these  sittings  will  be  found  described  in  detail  in  the  Octo- 
ber and  November,  1895,  issues  of  the  Journal  S.  P.  R. 
(English). 

The  results  of  these  seances  were  entirely  negative.  Not 
only  were  the  phenomena,  comparatively  speaking,  sparse  and 
uninteresting,  but  fraud  was  detected  in  actual  operation 
again  and  again — fraud  of  a  kind  which  necessitated  the 
supposition  that  the  medium  had  practiced  it  long  and  care- 
fully. Details  of  these  seances  are  unnecessary.  It  need  only 
be  said  that  Dr.  Hodgson,  and,  in  a  lesser  degree,  Mr.  Nevil 
Maskelyne,  of  London,  detected  substitution  of  hands  over 
and  over  again,  and  caught  her  in  the  act  of  producing  fraud- 
ulent phenomena.  The  conclusion  was,  that  systematic 
fraud  had  been  used  from  first  to  last,  and  that  there  was 
no  adequate  reason  to  suppose  any  supernormal  agency  what- 
ever. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myers,  Miss  Johnson,  Mrs.  Sidgwick, 
Professor  Sidgwick,  and  Dr.  Hodgson  unanimously  "adopted 
the  conclusion  that  nothing  but  trickery  had  been  at  work 
in  the  Cambridge  series  of  experiments."  As  a  result  of 
these  sittings.  Professor  Sidgwick  stated  that  "inasmuch  as 
trickery  had  been  systematically  practised,  apparently,  by 
Eusapia  Palladino  for  years,  he  proposed  to  ignore  her  per- 
formances in  the  future  as  those  of  other  persons  engaged 
in  the  same  mischievous  trade  were  to  be  ignored."  {Journal 
S.  P.  R.,  April,  1896.) 

When  the  results  of  this  exposure  were  made  known,  it 
created  little  less  than  a  furore  in  the  world  of  psychic  re- 


54  Eusapia  Palladino 

search.  For  many  days  columns  of  material,  and  letters  pro 
and  con,  appeared  in  The  Daily  Chronicle,  The  Westminster 
Gazette,  The  Liverpool  Daily  Post,  The  British  Medical 
Journal,  Light,  and  other  magazines;  and  it  need  hardly  be 
said  that  the  general  effect  of  the  exposure,  on  the  public 
mind,  was  to  impress  them  even  more  deeply  than  ever  with 
skepticism,  and  to  confirm  their  wavering  doubt  that  Eusapia 
was  fraudulent  from  beginning  to  end. 

Yet  there  is  a  reason  for  the  fraud  that  Eusapia  resorted 
to  at  Cambridge,  and  those  investigators  who  have  had  much 
experience  with  her  had  no  difficulty  in  pointing  out  exactly 
what  the  cause  of  this  was.  It  has  always  been  well  known 
that  if  Eusapia  were  allowed  to  trick  her  sitters  she  would  do 
so,  and  the  policy  of  the  English  investigators  had  been,  not 
to  endeavor  to  prevent  phenomena  by  rigorous  control,  but  to 
allow  great  laxity,  to  permit  her  to  substitute  her  hands  when 
she  desired,  and  merely  note  the  results.  Eusapia,  finding 
that  she  could  effect  substitution  of  hands  with  ease,  and 
apparently  without  detection,  naturally  resorted  to  this  de- 
vice at  every  seance,  and  the  result  of  this  was  that  fraud 
was  almost  invariably  detected  during  her  English  sittings. 
Yet  there  is  doubt  if  all  the  phenomena  witnessed  in  Eng- 
land could  be  accounted  for  by  fraud.  Certainly  the  phe- 
nomena differed  considerably  from  the  more  striking  mani- 
festations witnessed  at  her  genuine  seances.  Mr.  Myers,  in 
a  letter  written  to  The  Daily  Chronicle,  and  published 
November  4,  1895,  said: 

"As  to  the  phenomena  on  the  ile  Roubaud,  in  relation  to 
those  at  Cambridge :  The  best  of  those  observed  on  the  island 
were  so  different  from  those  at  Cambridge  that  I  cannot 
wonder  that  Professor  Lodge  should  still  hold  firmly  to  their 
genuine  character." 


Eusapia  Palladino  55 

This  has  been  our  own  experience  also.  We  noted  in 
our  seances  that  when  Eusapia  resorted  to  fraud,  as  she  did 
occasionally  (see  p.  182)  the  character  of  the  resulting  phe- 
nomenon was  entirely  different  from  the  genuine  and  far  more 
striking  manifestations  which  occurred  at  other  times.  Fur- 
ther, had  the  opposite  policy  been  adopted ;  had  she  been  pre- 
vented from  resorting  to  fraud  instead  of  Allowed  to 
do  so,  very  different  results  would  doubtless  have  been  ob- 
tained. It  must  be  remembered,  in  this  connection,  that  these 
methods  of  trickery  (substitution  of  hands,  etc.)  had  always 
been  known  to  the  Continental  investigators;  and  in  their 
previous  reports  they  had  several  times  called  attention  to 
this  aspect  of  the  problem,  and  stated  that  Eusapia  would  in- 
variably resort  to  trickery  unless  she  were  prevented  from  do- 
ing so.  Dr.  J.  Maxwell,  indeed,  in  his  MetapsycJiical  Phe- 
nomena, criticised  the  results  of  these  Cambridge  experiments, 
and  said : 

"As  far  as  his  (Dr.  Hodgson's)  experiments  with  Eusapia 
Palladino  are  concerned,  I  will  reply  to  him  that  in  a  great 
measure  he  and  his  friends  were  responsible  for  her  frauds, 
and  almost  wholly  responsible  for  the  failure  of  the  experi- 
ments. They  appear  to  have  neglected  the  psychological  side 
of  a  medium's  role,  and  forgot  that  a  medium  is  not  a  me- 
chanical instrument.  Eusapia  was  not  at  her  case,  and,  if 
my  memory  serves  me  right,  she  found  the  Cambridge  center 
rather  disdainful  and  haughty,  save  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myers. 
She  was  dull  and  lonely.  .  .  .  The  seances  were  too  numer- 
ous (there  were  twenty  seances  held  in  less  than  seven  weeks 
— a  seance  every  other  day) — if  you  take  into  consideration 
her  not  being  very  well  and  consequently  unfit  for  anything 
for  a  few  daj'S.  This  was  making  sure  of  bad  results,  es- 
pecially as  the  seances  sometimes  lasted  two  and  a  half  to 
three  hours.  It  was  impossible  for  the  medium  to  recruit 
her  strength,  physically  or  morally — especially  in  a  country 


56  Eusapla  Palladino 

where  the  manners,  life,  language,  and  even  the  cooking  were 
so  difFerent  from  those  of  Naples.  .  .  . 

"It  appears,  however,  that  the  first  seances  were  pretty 
good.  There  were  some  suspicious  things,  as  is  often  the  case 
with  Eusapia.  Hodgson's  arrival  changed  everything.  It 
was  then  that  fraud  was  discovered,  but  a  long  time  after 
Richet  and  Torelli  had  pointed  it  out." 

Then  follows  a  discussion  of  the  method  employed  by  the 
English  experimenters,  which  Dr.  Maxwell  considered  funda- 
mentally wrong.  Extracts  from  the  sittings  were  quoted  to 
sustain  his  position.  Dr.  Maxwell  stated  that  he,  in  com- 
mon with  other  Continental  investigators,  had  proceeded  by 
another  route,  and  had  obtained  very  different  results.  He 
had  set  about  gaining  Eusapia's  confidence  and  sympathy, 
and  the  results  of  some  of  his  seances  appeared  to  him  quite 
conclusive.  One  or  two  extracts  from  seances  held  by  him 
are  quoted  by  way  of  sustaining  his  position.  I  cite  one  of 
these  here,  as  being  of  special  interest. 

"P.  is  vigorously  touched.  Eusapia  gives  him  the  control 
of  her  hands  and  feet.  P.  receives  slaps  on  the  back  every 
time  Eusapia  presses  her  foot.  The  noise  is  distinctly  heard. 
P.'s  chair  is  shaken  and  drawn  from  under  him.  Eusapia 
rubs  her  feet  on  the  floor,  'to  give  fluid,'  she  says.  Finally, 
P.'s  chair  is  slowly  carried  on  to  the  seance  table.  The  per- 
sons (Dr.  Denuce,  Mme.  A.,  and  I)  for  whom  P.  is  be- 
tween the  table  and  the  window,  see  the  chair  very  clearly 
outlined  on  the  window.  After  having  been  placed  on  the 
tabic,  the  chair  is  taken  back  to  the  floor,  and  the  second  time 
carried  on  to  the  table.  The  movements  were  slowly  produced. 
While  they  were  being  produced,  the  hands,  feet,  and  head 
of  the  medium  were  under  control.  If  any  part  of  the  me- 
dium's body  had  touched  the  chair,  the  contact  would  have 
been  seen  on  the  silhouette  of  the  chair,  the  latter  standing 
out  well  against  the  lighted-up  window.  While  the  chair 
is  in  movement,  P.  is  crouching  down  on  his  heels.     He  is 


Eusapia  Palladino  z^"] 

touched  on  the  back.  His  garments  are  pulled,  he  is  tickled. 
At  the  same  time  the  table  is  levitated.  These  three  manifes- 
tations were  produced  simultaneously." 

Dr.  Maxwell  concludes  with  these  words: 

"My  judgment  will  convince  no  one.  In  such  matters  we 
must  see  for  ourselves  in  order  to  be  convinced.  Dr.  Hodg- 
son himself  knows  this  to-day.  IVIy  testimony  contradicts 
formally  and  explicit)'  the  conclusions  of  the  Cambridge  in- 
vestigators. Eusapia  does  not  always  defraud.  With  us  she 
rarely  defrauded." 

§  8.  Experiments  at  I'Agnelas — 1895 

Immediately  following  the  exposure  at  Cambridge,  a  com- 
mittee was  formed  at  the  house  of  Colonel  De  Rochas,  in 
September,  1895,  consisting  of  Dr.  Dariex,  Count  De  Gram- 
mont,  Dr.  Maxwell,  Professor  Sabatier,  Baron  De  Watte- 
ville,  and  Colonel  De  Rochas.  The  report  of  these  seances 
is  given  in  full  in  M.  De  Rochas'  book,  The  Exteriorization 
of  Motivity — to  which  I  would  refer  the  reader  for  a  de- 
tailed account.  It  was  believed  by  these  experimenters  that 
the  Cambridge  exposure  had  been  incomplete  and  more  or 
less  superficial ;  and  it  was  determined  to  test  again  Eusapia's 
powers,  and  to  see  whether  or  not  genuine  phenomena  could 
be  obtained  when  Eusapia  was  prevented  from  resorting  to 
trickery.  The  investigators  seem  to  have  been  exceedingly 
careful  in  their  method  of  procedure,  the  hands  and  feet  were 
well  controlled,  and  are  accurately  described  by  Colonel  De 
Rochas.  Here,  e.g.,  is  the  method  of  control  during  the  third 
seance — which  was  the  first  official  seance  held — all  members 
of  the  Committee  being  present. 

"At  a  quarter  to  nine,  Dr.  Dariex,  upon  the  request  of  the 
medium,  returned  to  her  right  side.    He  seated  himself  on  the 


^8  Eusapia  Palladino 

little  tabouret,  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  medium  and  M. 
Sabatier.  Eusapia  then  places  her  two  legs  between  those 
of  Dr.  Dariex,  and  rests  her  two  feet  upon  the  tabouret. 
The  right  arm  and  the  right  hand  of  Dr.  Dariex  supports 
her  knees  and  her  thighs.  In  that  position,  the  feet,  the  legs, 
the  knees,  and  the  thighs  of  the  medium  are  continually  con- 
trolled ;  the  contact  is  constant,  so  that  the  least  movement 
of  the  lower  members  of  the  medium  can  be  accounted  for. 
This  position  of  the  legs  w^as  retained  to  the  end  of  the 
seance ;  at  the  same  time  Eusapia  rests  her  head  against  that 
of  Dr.  Dariex,  and  the  latter  also  shares  in  the  control  of  the 
right  arm  and  the  right  hand,  twining  his  left  arm  around 
the  arm  of  Eusapia,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  bend  of  the 
elbow  encircles  the  lower  part  of  the  arm,  so  that  tlie  forearm 
of  Dr.  Dariex  comes  in  contact  with  the  forearm  of  the  me- 
dium, and  his  hand  rests  on  the  back  of  her  wrist ;  moreover, 
by  the  tips  of  his  fingers,  Dr.  Dariex  touches  the  hand  of  M. 
Sabatier,  which  holds  the  right  hand  of  Eusapia. 

"To  sum  up,  he  holds  the  medium  in  such  a  manner  that 
he  is  sure  of  her  lower  limbs,  her  right  hand  and  her  right 
wrist,  which  do  not  leave  the  table,  and  of  her  head,  which 
does  not  leave  his  head.  Dr.  Maxwell  always  holds  the  left 
hand ;  M.  Sabatier  the  right  hand  very  securely." 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  control  throughout  the 
whole  series  of  seances  was  as  complete  as  on  this  particular 
occasion,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  accurately  governed  and  ac- 
curately recorded  throughout,  and  it  w^ould  appear  to  me  that 
any  impartial  critic  must  be  forced  into  the  belief  that  on  very 
rare  occasions  could  Eusapia  have  freed  one  hand  or  one  foot, 
and  with  it  produced  spurious  phenomena.  Without  going 
into  detail  regarding  the  control  throughout  these  seances, 
therefore,  I  shall  give  a  brief  resume  of  the  phenomena  ob- 
served— since  the  control  will  be  stated  in  great  detail  during 
our  own  series  of  seances,  to  be  recorded  later  on. 

Various  movements  of  the  table  and  curtain  phenomena 


Eusapla  Palladino  59 

usually  commenced  the  seance.  Loud  raps  occurred,  the  toy 
piano  was  brought  from  the  cabinet  onto  the  seance  table, 
and  the  large  arm  chair  partly  rose  into  the  air,  its  feet 
keeping  time  with  the  music.  Invisible  hands  touched  the 
sitters,  pulling  their  hair  and  pinching  them.  Chairs  and 
other  articles  of  furniture  were  piled  onto  the  table  without 
apparent  cause — both  hands  of  Eusapia  being  well  held,  it 
is  asserted,  at  the  time.  Indeed,  Eusapia  invariably  announced 
in  advance  the  character  of  the  phenomenon  which  was  about 
to  take  place,  and  asked  that  the  control  should  be  thoroughly 
verified. 

It  would  be  useless  to  supply  similar  details  of  all  the 
seances  held  at  I'Agnelas,  which  were  of  very  similar  char- 
acter— progressing  in  excellence  as  the  seances  proceeded,  and 
which  finally  convinced  the  sitters  that  genuine  phenomena 
had  been  obtained  under  excellent  conditions  of  control,  and 
that,  in  spite  of  the  Cambridge  exposure,  Eusapia's  medium- 
ship  was  undoubted. 


§  9.  Experiments  at  Naples — 1895 

Meanwhile,  in  1895,  a  new  series  of  experiments  had  been 
held  in  Naples,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Paolo  Visani- 
Scozzi,  Professor  of  Nervous  Diseases  at  Florence. 

Four  seances  were  held,  which  were  also  attended  by  Dr. 
Visani,  Countess  Helena  Mainardi,  Professor  Chiaia,  and 
others.  Precautions  were  taken  against  fraud — which,  how- 
ever, are  not  detailed  in  the  report — and  the  following  phe- 
nomena were  observed  and  vouched  for  by  the  experimenters: 

I.  In  plain  light:  Movements  of  objects  without  contact; 
levitations  of  the  table,  raps — which  frequently  kept  time  to 
music — and  answered  questions. 


6o  Eusapia  Palladino 

2.  In  semUarkness  (the  light  being  sufficient  to  dis- 
tinguish all  the  sitters,  however)  there  occurred:  Touches 
by  invisible  hands;  very  loud  raps  on  the  table;  movements 
of  chairs,  and  kisses  were  heard  distinctly  in  the  room.  A 
shadow  formed  near  to  the  medium,  as  though  issuing  from 
her,  and  assumed  colossal  proportions.  During  the  produc- 
tion of  this  phenomenon  the  medium  was  in  deep  trance,  and 
completely  immobile. 

3.  In  complete  darkness:  Movements  of  the  table,  chairs, 
and  other  objects  (which  were  sometimes,  when  the  lights 
were  relighted,  found  to  be  turned  upside  down).  The 
formation  of  hands,  which  touched  the  sitters,  the  forma- 
tion of  invisible  heads,  which  gave  kisses  and  rubbed  the 
faces  of  the  sitters  with  their  silky  beards;  the  formation 
of  a  misty  ball,  which  emitted  a  whitish  light;  and  the  for- 
mation of  a  phantom,  which  assumed  the  form  of  a  very 
large  man. 

A  trumpet,  a  tambourine,  and  a  bell  played  at  the  same 
thne,  all  being  raised  in  the  air  simultaneously.  All  the  fur- 
niture in  the  room  was  then  moved  about.  In  tune  to  a 
march  played  by  the  above-mentioned  instruments,  the  table 
promenaded  toward  the  door,  keeping  time  to  the  music  with 
its  feet — while  the  medium,  half  asleep,  was  dragged  with  her 
chair  along  with  the  table. 

The  most  important  phenomenon  was  an  imprint  of  a 
hand  and  of  a  face,  obtained  in  clay,  which  in  no  way  re- 
sembled those  of  the  medium. 

Although  these  seances  were  striking  in  character,  we  can- 
not, unfortunately,  attribute  to  them  much  evidential  value, 
since  the  conditions  of  the  experiments,  and  particularly  the 
manner  of  controlling  the  medium,  were  very  insufficiently 
recorded  throughout. 


Eusapia  Palladino  6i 

§  10.  Experiments   at  Tremezzo,   at  Auteuil,   and   at 
Choisy- Y  vrac — 1 896 

In  1896  an  interesting  seance  was  held  at  Tremezzo,  which 
was  accurately  recorded  by  Mme.  Z.  Blech.  Various  inter- 
esting phenomena  were  observed,  when  both  hands  of  Eusapia 
were  distinctly  seen,  resting  upon  the  table.  Four  days  later 
a  new  series  of  seances  was  held  at  Auteuil,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Dr.  Dariex,  M.  Desdeaux,  M.  Guerronnan,  M.  Mar- 
cel Mangin,  and  M.  Sully-Prudhomme.  The  result  of  the 
seven  seances  was,  again,  to  convince  the  sitters  of  Eusapia's 
undoubted  supernormal  powers. 

Following  these  experiments,  a  new  series  of  seances  was 
held  at  Choisy- Yvrac,  which  were  attended  by  M.  Maxwell, 
Count  de  Grammont,  Count  de  Watteville,  Colonel  de 
Rochas,  and  other  well-known  investigators.  The  usual  phe- 
nomena were  observed,  and,  in  addition,  various  experiments 
were  tried,  such  as  the  effects  of  electricity  upon  the  medium 
and  the  phenomena ;  magnetizing  and  hypnotizing  the  me- 
dium— an  interesting  account  of  which  will  be  found  in 
Colonel  de  Rochas'  book,  before  referred  to.  It  was  ascer- 
tained, apparently,  that  electricity  in  some  manner  increased 
her  "forces,"  and  assisted  in  the  levitation  of  a  small  stool, 
which  she  had  been  unable  to  raise.  As,  however,  such  levi- 
tations  have  been  obtained  at  various  times  without  any  elec- 
trical apparatus,  its  value  seems  doubtful. 

§  II.   Experiments  at  Naples — 1897 

In  April,  1897,  sittings  were  held  at  Naples  by  MM. 
Ernest  Mayer,  and  Leon  BouUoche.  These  were  followed 
by  a  seance  held  in  June,  in  Rome,  by  M.  de  Siemiradski — 
followed  again  by  seances  held  in  Paris  in  July,  and  later  ia 


62  Eusapia  Palladino 

the  same  month  at  Montfort  I'Amaur^'.  These  latter  seances, 
which  are  by  far  the  most  noteworthy,  were  attended  by  M. 
de  Fontenay,  who  published  a  lengthy  report,  and  has  since 
written  a  book,  Apropos  d'Eusapia  Palladino,  based  largely 
upon  these  sittings.  Since  then,  M.  de  Fontenay  has  obtained 
a  number  of  seances,  and  has  especially  devoted  himself  to 
the  task  of  photographing  the  phenomena,  and  particularly 
the  heads,  faces,  and  hands  that  are  supposed  to  materialize 
at  Eusapia's  seances.  In  an  article  entitled  Fraud,  and  the 
Hypothesis  of  Hallucination,  in  the  Study  of  the  Phenomena 
Produced  by  Eusapia  Palladino  {Annals  of  Psychical  Science, 
April,  1908),  M.  de  Fontenay  succeeded  in  photographing 
various  hands  appearing  over  Mme.  Palladino's  head — one 
of  which,  particularly,  is  of  interest,  inasmuch  as  both  the 
medium's  hands  are  seen  (in  the  photograph)  to  be  securely 
held  by  her  investigators  outside  the  cabinet.  The  "hand" 
in  this  case,  however,  does  not  appear  to  be  a  fully  formed 
hand,  but  rather  a  claw,  or  an  ex'ceedingly  malformed  or 
half-formed  hand.  M.  de  Fontenay  was  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  he  had  on  this  occasion  photographed  "matter 
in  the  course  of  condensation" — i.e.,  a  materialization.  It 
is  true  that  other  photographs  taken  by  M.  de  Fontenay  are 
far  less  convincing,  but,  as  he  himself  says,  "in  any  case  one 
point  is  settled — the  appearance  of  hands  in  the  vicinity  of 
Eusapia  are  not  generally  hallucinatory,  nor  are  the  forma- 
tions of  lights,  which  are  observed  to  occur  with  this  me- 
dium. If  my  photographs  prove  no  more  than  this,  their  im- 
portance would  not  be  negligible." 

§  12.  Experiments  at  Montfort  I'Amaury — 1897 

In   1897  a  short  series  of  three  seances  was  held  at  the 
home  of  M.  Blech,  at  Montfort  I'Amaury.  M.  Blech,  Mme. 


Eusapla  Palladino  63 

Blech,  Mme.  Z.  Blech,  and  Mile.  A.  Blech,  together  with 
M.  G.  de  Fontenay,  formed  the  circle  at  first,  and  they  were 
afterwards  joined  by  M.  Flammarion.  These  seances  seem 
to  have  been  very  successful  in  character,  a  great  variety  of 
phenomena  being  obtained  under  what  appear  to  be  good 
conditions  of  control.  A  full  account  of  these  seances  will 
be  found  in  M.  de  Fontenay's  book,  Apropos  d'Eusapia  Palla- 
dino, to  which  I  would  refer  the  reader  for  an  exhaustive 
discussion  of  these  sittings,  and  accompanying  theoretical 
data.  The  book  is  a  remarkable  one,  and  is  well  worthy 
of  careful  perusal.  ]M.  Flammarion,  who  was  present  at 
one  of  these  seances,  gives  us  a  vivid  picture  of  the  course  of 
events,  which  I  quote  from  his  own  book.  Mysterious  Psychic 
Forces,  pp.  70-75: 

"Five  raps  in  the  table  indicate,  according  to  a  convention 
arranged  by  the  medium,  that  the  unknown  cause  seeks  for 
less  light.  This  is  always  annoying;  I  have  already  said 
what  I  think  of  this.  The  candles  are  blown  out,  the  lamp 
turned  down,  but  the  light  is  strong  enough  for  us  to  see 
very  distinctly  everything  that  takes  places  in  the  salon.  The 
round  table,  which  I  had  lifted  and  set  aside,  approaches  the 
table  and  tries  several  times  to  climb  up  on  it,  I  lean  upon  it, 
in  order  to  keep  it  down,  but  I  experience  an  elastic  resist- 
ance and  am  unable  to  do  so.  The  free  edge  of  the  round 
table  places  itself  on  the  edge  of  the  rectangular  table,  but, 
hindered  by  its  triangular  foot,  it  does  not  succeed  in  clear- 
ing itself  sufficiently  to  climb  upon  it.  Since  I  am  holding 
the  medium  I  ascertain  that  she  makes  no  effort  of  the  kind 
that  would  be  needed  for  this  style,  of  performance. 

*'The  curtain  swells  out  and  approaches  my  face.  It  is 
at  this  moment  that  the  medium  falls  into  a  trance.  She  ut- 
ters sighs  and  lamentations  and  only  speaks  now  in  the  third 
person,  saying  that  she  is  John  King,  a  psychic  personality 
who  claims  to  have  been  her  father  in  another  existence,  and 
who  calls  her  *JVIy  daughter.' 


64  Eusapia  Palladino 

"Five  new  taps  ask  for  still  less  light,  and  the  lamp  is  al- 
most completely  turned  down,  but  not  extinguished.  The 
eyes,  growing  accustomed  to  the  clare-obscure,  still  distin- 
guish pretty  well  what  is  taking  place. 

"The  curtain  swells  out  again,  and  I  feel  that  I  am 
touched  on  the  shoulder,  through  the  stuff  of  the  curtain,  as 
if  by  a  closed  fist.  The  chair  in  the  cabinet,  upon  which  are 
placed  the  music  box  and  the  bell,  is  violently  shaken,  and 
the  objects  fall  to  the  floor.  The  medium  again  asks  for  less 
light,  and  a  red  photographic  lantern  is  placed  upon  the  piano, 
the  light  of  the  lamp  being  extinguished.  The  control  is 
rigorously  kept  up,  the  m.edium  agreeing  to  it  with  the  great- 
est docility. 

"For  about  a  minute  the  music  box  plays  intermittent  airs 
behind  the  curtain,  as  if  it  was  turned  by  some  hand. 

"The  curtain  moves  forward  again  toward  me,  and  a 
rather  strong  hand  seizes  my  arm.  I  immediately  reach  for- 
ward to  seize  the  hand,  but  I  grasp  only  the  empty  air.  I 
then  press  the  two  legs  of  the  medium  between  mine,  and  I 
take  her  left  hand  in  my  right.  On  the  other  side,  the  right 
hand  is  firmly  held  in  the  left  hand  of  M.  de  Fontenay. 
Then  Eusapia  brings  the  hand  of  the  last  named  toward  my 
cheek,  and  imitates  upon  the  cheek,  with  the  finger  of  M.  de 
Fontenay,  the  movement  of  a  little  revolving  crank  or  handle. 
The  music  box,  which  has  one  of  these  handles,  plays  at  the 
same  time  behind  the  curtain  in  perfect  synchronism.  The 
instant  that  Eusapia's  hand  stops,  the  music  stops;  all  the 
movements  correspond,  just  as  in  the  Morse  telegraph 
system.  .  .  . 

"I  feel  several  touches  on  the  back  arid  on  the  side. 
M.  de  Fontenay  receives  a  sharp  slap  on  the  back  that  every- 
body hears.  A  hand  passes  through  my  hair.  The  chair  of 
M.  de  Fontenay  is  violently  pulled,  and  a  few  moments  after- 
wards he  cries,  'I  see  the  silhouette  of  a  man  passing  between 
M.  Flammarion  and  me,  above  the  table,  shutting  out  the  red 
light!' 

"This  thing  Is  repeated  several  times.  I  do  not  myself 
succeed  in  seeing  this  silhouette.  I  then  propose  to  M.  de 
Fontenay  that  I  take  his  place,  for,  in  that  case,  I  should  be 


Eusapia  Palladino  65 

likely  to  see  it  also.  I  soon  distinctly  perceive  a  dim  sil- 
houette passing  before  the  red  lantern,  but  I  do  not  recognize 
any  precise  form.  It  is  only  an  opaque  shadow  (the  profile 
of  a  man)   which  advances  as  far  as  the  light  and  retires. 

"In  a  moment,  Eusapia  says  there  is  some  one  behind  the 
curtain.    After  a  slight  pause  she  adds: 

"  'There  is  a  man  by  j-our  side,  on  the  right;  he  has  a 
great  soft  forked  beard.'  I  ask  if  I  may  touch  this  beard. 
In  fact,  while  lifting  my  hand,  I  feel  rather  a  soft  beard 
brushing  against  it. 

"A  block  of  paper  is  put  on  the  table  with  a  lead  pencil, 
with  the  hope  of  getting  writing.  The  pencil  is  flipped  clear 
across  the  room.  I  then  take  the  block  of  paper  and  hold  it 
in  the  air:  it  is  snatched  violently  from  me,  in  spite  of  all 
my  efforts  to  retain  it.  At  this  moment,  \l.  de  Fontenay, 
with  his  back  turned  to  the  light,  sees  a  hand  (a  white  hand 
and  not  a  shadow),  the  arm  showing  as  far  as  the  elbow, 
holding  the  block  of  paper;  but  all  the  others  declare  that 
they  only  see  the  paper  shaking  in  the  air. 

"I  did  not  see  the  hand  snatch  the  packet  of  paper  from 
me ;  but  only  a  hand  could  have  been  able  to  seize  it  with  such 
violence,  and  this  did  not  appear  to  be  the  hand  of  the  me- 
dium, for  I  held  her  right  hand  in  my  left,  and  the  paper  with 
arm  extended  in  my  right  hand,  and  M.  de  Fontenay  de- 
clared that  he  did  not  let  go  her  left  hand. 

"I  was  struck  several  times  in  the  side,  touched  on  the 
head,  and  my  ear  was  smartly  pinched.  I  declare  that  after 
several  repetitions  I  had  enough  of  this  ear-pinching;  but 
during  the  whole  seance,  in  spite  of  my  protestations,  some- 
body kept  hitting  me. 

"The  little  round  table,  placed  outside  of  the  cabinet,  at 
the  left  of  the  medium,  approaches  the  table,  climbs  clear  up 
on  it  and  lies  across  it.  The  guitar  in  the  cabinet  is  heard 
moving  about  and  giving  out  sounds.  The  curtain  is  puffed 
out,  and  the  guitar  is  brought  upon  the  table,  resting  upon 
the  shoulder  of  M.  de  Fontenay-.  It  is  then  laid  upon  the 
table,  the  large  end  toward  the  medium.  Then  it  rises  and 
moves  over  the  heads  of  the  company  without  touching  them. 
It  gives  forth  several  sounds.     The  phenomenon  lasts  about 


66  Eusapia  Palladino 

fifteen  seconds.  It  can  readily  be  seen  that  the  guitar  is 
floating  in  the  air,  and  the  reflection  of  the  red  lamp  glides 
over  its  shining  surface.  A  rather  bright  gleam,  pear-shaped, 
is  seen  on  the  ceiling  of  the  other  corner  of  the  room. 

"The  medium,  who  is  tired,  asks  for  rest.  The  candles 
are  lighted.  Mme.  Blech  returns  the  objects  to  their  places, 
ascertains  that  the  cakes  of  putty  are  intact,  places  the  small- 
est upon  a  little  round  table  and  the  large  one  upon  the  chair 
in  the  cabinet,  behind  the  medium.  The  sitting  is  resumed 
by  the  feeble  glimmer  of  the  red  lantern. 

"The  medium,  whose  hands  and  feet  are  carefully  con- 
trolled by  M.  de  Fontenay  and  myself,  breathes  heavily. 
Above  her  head  the  snapping  of  fingers  is  heard.  She  still 
pants,  groans,  and  sinks  her  fingers  into  my  hand.  Three 
raps  are  heard.  She  cries,  'It  is  done!'  M.  de  Fontenay 
brings  the  little  dish  beneath  the  light  of  the  red  lantern  and 
discovers  the  impression  of  four  fingers  in  the  putty,  in  the 
position  which  they  had  taken  when  she  had  gripped  my 
hand.^ 

"Seats  are  taken,  the  medium  asks  for  rest,  and  a  little 
light  is  turned  on. 

"The  sitting  is  soon  resumed  as  before,  by  the  extremely 
feeble  light  of  the  red  lantern.     John  is  spoken  of  as  if  he 

^  Professor  Chiaia,  of  Naples,  writes,  a  propos  of  these  impressions  in  clay: 
"I  have  imprints  in  boxes  of  clay  weighing  anywhere  between  sixty-five  and 
sixty-eight  pounds.  I  mention  the  weight  in  order  to  let  you  see  the  impos- 
sibility of  lifting  and  transporting  with  one  hand  alone  so  heavy  a  tray — even 
upon  the  supposition  that  Eusapia  might,  unknown  to  us,  free  one  of  her  hands. 
In  almost  every  case,  in  fact,  this  tray,  placed  upon  a  chair,  three  feet  behind  the 
medium,  was  brought  forward  and  placed  very  gently  upon  the  table  about 
which  we  were  seated.  The  transfer  was  made  with  such  nicety  that  the  per- 
sons who  formed  the  chain  and  held  firmly  the  hands  of  Eusapia  did  not  hear 
the  least  noise,  did  not  perceive  the  least  rustling.  We  were  forewarned  of  the 
arrival  of  the  tray  upon  the  table  by  several  taps,  which,  according  to  our  con- 
ventional arrangement,  'John'  struck  in  the  wall  to  inform  us  that  we  could 
turn  on  the  light.  I  did  so  at  once  by  turning  the  cock  of  the  gas  fixture,  which 
was  suspended  above  the  table.  (We  had  never  completely  extinguished  it.] 
We  then  found  the  tray  upon  the  table,  and,  upon  the  clay,  the  imprint  which 
we  supposed  must  have  been  made  before  its  transfer,  and  while  it  was  behind 
Eusapia,  in  the  cabinet  where  'John'  usually  materializes  and  manifests  him- 
self." 


o   '-   ^ 

c  ~  5 

5  •"=  "?  3 


•^  c  2i  ~ 


—    E    U 

^   "o  ^  "5  S/^ 


;  1>  _    1)    O 

::  1)  -y,  — 

?^  9-  jr.  = 


:S  u  P  &. 

~      '/■;      P      -.^ 

Co;  — 


Eusapia  Palladino  67 

existed,  as  if  it  was  he  whose  head  we  perceived  in  silhouette ; 
he  is  asked  to  continue  his  manifestations,  and  to  show  the 
impression  of  his  head  in  the  putty,  as  he  has  already  several 
times  done.  Eusapia  replies  that  it  is  a  difficult  thing  and 
asks  us  not  to  think  of  it  for  a  moment,  but  to  go  on  speaking. 
These  suggestions  of  hers  are  always  disquieting,  and  we  re- 
double our  attention,  though  without  speaking  much.  The 
medium  pants,  groans,  writhes.  The  chair  in  the  cabinet 
comes  forward  and  places  itself  by  the  side  of  the  medium, 
then  it  is  lifted  and  placed  upon  the  head  of  Mme.  Z.  Blech, 
while  the  tray  is  lightly  placed  in  the  hands  of  M.  Blech,  at 
the  other  end  of  the  table.  Eusapia  cries  that  she  sees  before 
her  a  head  and  a  bust,  and  says  'E  fatto'  (It  is  done).  We 
do  not  believe  her,  because  M.  Blech  has  not  felt  any  pressure 
on  the  dish.  Three  violent  blows  as  of  a  mallet  are  struck 
upon  the  table.  The  light  is  turned  on,  and  a  human  profile 
is  found  imprinted  in  the  putty.  Mme.  Z.  Blech  kisses  Eu- 
sapia upon  both  cheeks,  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out  whether 
her  face  has  not  some  odor  (glazier's  putty  having  a  very 
strong  odor  of  linseed  oil,  which  remains  for  sometime  upon 
the  fingers).     She  discovers  nothing  abnormal.  .  .  ." 

§  13.  Experiments  in  Paris — 1898 

In  November,  1898,  Eusapia  went  to  Paris  on  the  invita- 
tion of  a  scientific  committee,  composed  of  MM.  Flamma- 
rion,  Charles  Richet,  A.  de  Rochas,  Victorien  Sardou,  Jules 
Claretie,  Adolphe  Brisson,  Rene  Baschet,  Arthur  Levy,  Gus- 
tave  Le  Bon,  Jules  Bois,  Gaston  Mery,  G.  Delanne,  G.  de 
Fontenay,  G.  Armelin,  Andre  Bloch,  etc.  These  seances 
were  held  in  M.  Flammarion's  salon  under  good  conditions 
of  control.  Before  each  seance,  Eusapia  was  undressed  and 
dressed  in  the  presence  of  two  ladies.  The  following  inci- 
dents are  taken  from  the  reports  of  various  members  of 
this  committee,  which  follow  one  another,  and  which  I  shall 
briefly  summarize  here.     The  full  account  of  these  seances 


68  Eusapia  Palladino 

is  to  be  found  in  M.  Flammarion's  book,  Mysterious  Psychic 
Forces. 

M.  Arthur  Levy  records  one  case,  typical  of  a  number 
of  others,  of  the  depression  of  a  spring-balance  letter-weight 
of  the  ordinary  kind : 

"While  we  are  talking  some  one  puts  a  letter  weight  on 
the  table.  Putting  her  hands  down  on  each  side  of  the  letter 
weigher,  and  at  a  distance  of  four  inches,  she  causes  the 
needle  to  move  to  No.  35,  engraved  on  the  dial  place  of  the 
scales.  Eusapia  herself  asked  us  to  convince  ourselves,  by 
inspection,  that  she  did  not  have  a  hair  leading  from  one 
hand  to  the  other,  and  with  which  she  could  fraudulently 
press  upon  the  tray  of  the  letter  weigher.  This  little  b}^- 
play  took  place  when  all  the  lamps  of  the  salcwi  were  fully 
lighted.  .  .  ." 

At  this  seance,  a  series  of  remarkable  events  transpired 
in  rapid  succession.  After  describing  a  number  of  minor  phe- 
nomena, and  finally  a  struggle  between  himself  and  two  in- 
visible hands  over  the  possession  of  a  tambourine,  in  which 
he  was  worsted,  M.  Levy  continues: 

"Eusapia  utters  repeated  cries — a  kind  of  rattling  in  the 
throat.  She  writhes  nervously,  and,  as  if  she  were  calling 
for  help,  cries:  'The  chain,  the  chain!'  We  thereupon  form 
the  chain  by  taking  hold  of  hands.  Then,  just  as  if  she  were 
defying  some  monster,  she  turns,  with  inflamed  looks,  to- 
ward an  enormous  divan,  which  thereupon  marches  up  to  us. 
She  looks  at  it  with  a  satanic  smile.  Finally,  she  blows  upon 
the  divan,   which  goes   immediately  back  to  its  place.  .  .  . 

"Eusapia  was  evidently  very  tired ;  her  burning  hands 
seemed  to  contract  or  shrivel ;  she  gasped  aloud  with  heaving 
breast,  her  foot  quitting  mine  every  moment,  scraping  the 
floor  and  tediously  rubbing  along  it  back  and  forth.  She 
uttered  hoarse,  panting  cries,  shrugging  up  her  shoulders 
and  sneering.  The  sofa  came  forward  when  she  looked  at 
it,  then  recoiled  before  her  breath;  all  the  instruments  were 


Eusapia  Palladino  69 

thrown  pellmell  upon  the  table;  the  tambourine  rose  almost 
to  the  height  of  the  ceilino;;  the  cushions  took  part  in  the 
sport,  overturning  everything  on  the  table ;  M.  M.  was 
thrown  from  his  chair.  This  chair — a  heav>'  dining-room 
chair  of  black  walnut,  with  stuffed  seat — rose  into  the  air, 
came  up  on  the  table  with  a  great  clatter,  then  was  pushed 
off.  .  .  ." 

At  a  seance  held  September  26,  1896,  the  following  in- 
cident occurred : 

"A  dark  bust  moves  forward  upon  the  table,  coming  from 
where  Eusapia  sits;  then  another,  and  still  another.  'They 
look  like  Chinese  ghosts,'  says  M.  Mangin,  'with  this  dif- 
ference, that  I,  who  am  better  placed,  owing  to  the  light 
from  the  window,  am  able  to  perceive  the  dimensions  of 
these  singular  images,  and,  above  all,  their  thickness.'  All 
these  black  busts  are  busts  of  women,  of  life  size;  but,  al- 
though vague,  they  do  not  look  like  Eusapia.  The  last  of 
them,  of  fine  shape,  is  that  of  a  woman  who  seems  young  and 
pretty.  These  half  lengths,  which  seem  to  emanate  from  the 
medium,  glide  along  between  us;  and  when  they  have  gone  as 
far  as  the  middle  of  the  table,  or  two  thirds  of  its  length, 
they  sink  down  altogether  (all  of  a  piece,  as  it  were)  and 
vanish.  This  rigidity  makes  me  think  of  the  reproductions, 
or  facsimiles,  of  a  bust  escaped  from  a  sculptor's  ntelier, 
and  I  murmur,  'One  would  think  he  was  looking  at  busts 
molded  in  papier  jiiache.'  Eusapia  hears  me.  'No,  not 
papier  mache'  she  says  indignantly.  She  does  not  give  any 
other  explanation,  but  says  (this  time  in  Italian)  :  'In  order 
to  prove  to  you  that  it  is  not  the  body  of  the  medium,  I 
am  going  to  show  you  a  man  with  a  beard.  Attention !'  I 
do  not  see  anything,  but  Dr.  Dariex  feels  his  face  rubbed 
against  for  quite  a  time  by  a  beard." 

Dr.  Le  Bon,  speaking  of  the  one  seance  he  attended,  sa}'s: 

"Eusapia  is  undoubtedly  a  marv^ellous  subject.  It  struck 
me  as  something  wonderful  that,   while  I   was  holding  her 


JO  Eusapia  Palladino 

hand,  she  was  playing  on  an  imaginary  tambourine,  to  which 
the  sounds  of  the  tambourine  that  was  behind  the  curtain 
accurately  corresponded.  I  do  not  see  how  any  trick  is  pos- 
sible in  such  a  case,  any  more  than  in  the  case  of  the  table. 

"My  cigarette  holder  was  grasped  by  a  very  strong  hand, 
which  wrenched  the  object  from  me  with  a  good  deal  of 
energ}^  I  was  on  my  guard  and  asked  to  see  the  experiment 
again.  The  phenomenon  was  so  singular,  and  so  beyond 
all  that  we  can  comprehend,  that  we  must  first  try  natural 
explanations: 

"i.  It  is  impossible  that  it  could  have  been  Eusapia.  I 
was  holding  one  of  her  hands,  and  was  looking  at  the  other 
arm,  and  I  placed  my  cigarette  holder  in  such  a  position  that, 
even  with  two  arms  free,  she  would  not  have  been  able  to 
accomplish  such  a  marvellous  thing. 

"2.  It  is  not  probable  that  it  could  have  been  an  ac- 
complice ;  but  is  it  not  possible  that  the  unconscious  mind 
of  Eusapia  suggested  to  the  unconscious  mind  of  the  per- 
son near  the  curtain  to  pass  a  hand  behind  it  and  operate 
there?  Everybody  would  be  acting  in  good  faith,  and  would 
have  been  deceived  by  the  unconscious  element.  This  im- 
portant point  ought  to  be  verified,  for  no  experiment  would 
be  so  valuable  if  it  were  once  demonstrated." 

M.  Armelin,  in  his  report  of  the  seance  of  November  21st, 

writes : 

"At  10.03  the  table  is  lifted  clean  off  its  four  feet  at 
once,  at  first  on  the  side  opposite  to  the  medium,  rising  about 
eight  inches,  then  it  falls  abruptly  back.  While  it  is  in  the 
air  Eusapia  calls  to  her  two  neighbors  to  make  sure  that 
they  are  closely  holding  her  hands  and  her  feet,  and  that  she 
is  not  in  contact  with  the  table.  .  .  .  Suddenly,  M.  Anto- 
niadi  exclaims  that  he  is  enveloped  by  the  curtain,  which 
rests  upon  his  shoulders.  Eusapia  cries:  'What  is  this  that 
is  passing  over  me?'  The  round  table  comes  forth  beneath 
the  curtain.  Mme.  Flammarion,  who  is  standing  opposite 
the  window,  and  has  kept  looking  behind  the  curtain,  says 
that  she  sees  some  very  white  object.    At  the  same  moment 


Eusapia  Palladino  71 

M.  Flammarion,  Mme.  Fourton,  and  M.  Jules  Bois  exclaim 
that  they  have  just  seen  a  white  hand  between  the  curtains, 
above  Eusapia's  head,  and  at  the  same  moment  M.  Mathieu 
says  that  his  hair  is  being  pulled.  The  hand  we  saw  seemed 
small,  like  that  of  a  woman  or  of  a  child." 

M.  Le  Bocain  asserts  that  at  one  of  these  seances  he  ad- 
dressed a  materialized  spirit  in  Arabic  in  the  following  terms: 

"  'If  it  is  really  thou,  Rosalie,  who  art  in  the  midst  of 
us,  pull  the  hair  on  the  back  of  my  head  three  times  in  suc- 
cession.' About  ten  minutes  later,  when  he  had  almost  com- 
pletely forgotten  his  request,  he  felt  his  hair  pulled  three 
times  in  response  to  this  wish.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  Eusapia  knows  no  Arabic." 

As  is  well  known,  the  famous  medium  Home  succeeded  in 
causing  an  accordion  to  play  by  itself,  and  untouched,  in 
the  presence  of  Sir  William  Crookes.  M.  Flammarion 
wished  to  see  if  this  same  phenomenon  could  be  duplicated 
in  Eusapia's  presence.  He  accordingly  tried  the  following 
experiment,  which  seems  to  have  been  completely  successful: 

"I  therefore  take  a  little  new  accordion  bought  that  even- 
ing in  a  bazaar,  and,  approaching  the  table,  and  remaining 
in  a  standing  position,  I  hold  the  accordion  by  one  side,  rest- 
ing two  fingers  upon  two  keys,  in  such  a  way  to  permit  the  air 
to  pass,  in  case  the  instrument  should  begin  to  play.  So 
held,  it  is  vertically  suspended  by  the  stretching  out  of  my 
right  hand  to  the  height  of  my  head  and  above  the  head 
of  the  medium.  We  make  sure  that  her  hands  are  all  the 
time  tightly  held,  and  that  the  chain  is  unbroken.  After 
a  short  wait  of  five  or  six  seconds  I  feel  the  accordion  drawn 
by  its  free  end,  and  the  bellows  is  immediately  pushed  in, 
several  times  successively,  and  at  the  same  time  the  music  is 
heard.  There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  a  hand,  a  pair 
of  pincers,  or  what  not,  has  hold  of  the  lower  end  of  the 
instrument.  ...  I  perceive  very  well  the  existence  of  this 


72  Eusapia  Palladino 

prehensile  organ.  All  possibility  of  fraud  is  eliminated 
for  the  instrument  is  well  above  Eusapia's  head,  her  hands 
are  firmly  held,  and  I  distinctly  see  the  distention  of  the  cur- 
tain as  far  as  the  instrument.  The  accordion  contiin'.es  to 
make  itself  heard,  and  is  pulled  on  so  strongly  thai.  1  say 
to  the  invisible  pouter,  'Well,  since  you  have  such  a  good 
hold  on  to  it,  keep  it.'  I  withdrew  my  hand,  and  the  instru- 
ment remains  as  if  glued  to  the  curtain.  It  is  no  longer 
heard.  What  has  become  of  it?  I  propose  to  light  a  candle 
and  hunt  for  it,  but  the  general  opinion  is  that  since  things 
arc  going  so  well  it  is  better  to  make  no  changes  in  the  en- 
vironment. While  we  are  talking,  the  accordion  begins  to 
play — a  slight  and  rather  insignificant  air.  In  order  to  do 
that  it  must  be  held  by  tivo  hands.  At  the  end  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  seconds  it  is  brought  to  the  middle  of  the  table, 
playing  all  the  while.  The  certainty  that  hands  are  playing 
is  so  complete  that  I  say  to  the  unknown,  since  you  have 
got  the  accordion  so  well,  you  can  doubtless  take  my  hand 
itself.  I  reach  out  my  arm  at  the  height  of  my  head,  rather 
a  little  higher.  The  curtain  inflates,  and  through  the  cur- 
tain I  feel  a  hand  (a  pretty  strong  left  hand) — that  is  to 
say,  three  fingers  and  a  thumb — and  these  grasp  the  end  of 
my  right  hand." 

§  14.    Experiments  at  Genoa — 1901 

In  1 901  Eusapia  went  to  Genoa,  where,  at  the  Minerva 
Club,  she  gave  a  series  of  remarkable  seances,  which  were 
attended  by  Professors  Porro,  Morselli,  Bozzano,  Venzano, 
Lombroso,  Vassalo,  and  others. 

I  shall  cite  extracts  from  these  reports  later  on  in  this 
volume.  It  Is  of  interest  to  quote  in  this  connection  the 
conclusions  arrived  at  by  Professor  Porro,  as  a  result  of 
this  series  of  experiments.     Speaking  of  the  sittings,  he  says : 

"...  A  formidable  blow,  like  the  stroke  of  the  fist  of  an 
athlete,  is  struck  in  the  middle  of  the  table.     The  person 


Eusapia  Palladino  73 

seated  at  the  right  of  the  medium  feels  that  he  is  grasped 
in  the  side.  .  .  .  The  blows  are  redoubled,  and  are  so  terri- 
fic that  it  seems  as  if  they  would  split  the  table.  We  begin 
to  perceive  hands  lifting  and  inflating  the  curtains,  and  ad- 
vancing as  far  as  to  touch,  first  one,  then  another,  of  the 
con  ;. any,  caressing  them,  pressing  their  hands,  daintily  pull- 
ing their  ears,  or  clapping  hands  merrily  in  the  air  above 
their  heads.  .  .  . 

"A  bouquet  of  flowers,  placed  in  a  carafe  on  the  larger 
table,  comes  over  on  to  ours,  preceded  by  an  agreeable  perfume. 
Stems  of  flowers  are  placed  in  the  mouth  of  No.  5  ;  and  No. 
8  is  hit  by  a  rubber  ball,  which  rebounds  upon  the  table. 
The  carafe  comes  over  to  join  the  flowers  on  our  table ;  it 
is  then  immediately  lifted  and  put  to  the  mouth  of  the  me- 
dium, and  she  is  made  to  drink  from  it  twice ;  between 
times  it  sinks  down  to  the  table  and  stands  there  for  a 
moment  right  side  up.  We  distinctly  hear  the  swallowing 
of  the  water,  after  which  Mme.  Palladino  asks  some  one  to 
wipe  her  mouth  with  a  handkerchief.  Finally,  the  carafe 
returns  to  the  large  table.  .  .  . 

"The  guitar  took  its  flight  around  the  room,  coming  to 
a  standstill  in  the  middle  of  the  table,  where,  finally,  it  came 
to  a  rest.  In  a  final,  supreme  effort,  Eusapia  turns  toward 
the  left,  where,  upon  a  table,  is  a  typewriting  machine  weigh- 
ing fifteen  pounds.  During  the  effort,  the  medium  falls 
exhausted  and  nervous  upon  the  floor;  but  the  machine  rises 
from  its  place  and  betakes  itself  to  the  middle  of  our  table, 
near  the  guitar. 

"In  full  light,  Eusapia  calls  M.  Morsclli,  and  controlled 
by  the  two  persons  next  her,  brings  him  with  her  toward  the 
table,  upon  which  is  placed  a  mass  of  molding  plaster.  She 
takes  his  open  hand  and  pushes  it  three  times  toward  the  plas- 
ter, as  if  to  sink  the  hand  into  it  and  leave  upon  it  an  impres- 
sion. M.  Morselli's  hand  remains  at  a  distance  of  more  than 
four  inches  from  the  mass;  nevertheless,  at  the  end  of  the 
seance,  the  experimenters  ascertain  that  the  lump  of  plaster 
contains  the  impression  of  three  fingers — deeper  prints  than  it 
is  possible  to  obtain  directly  by  means  of  voluntary  pressure. 


74  Eusapia  Palladino 

"The  medium  lifts  her  two  hands,  all  the  time  clasped  in 
mine  and  those  of  No.  5  (Morselli)  and,  uttering  groans, 
cries,  exhortations,  she  rises  with  her  chair,  so  far  as  to  place 
its  two  feet  and  the  ends  of  its  two  front  cross  bars  upon 
the  top  of  the  table.  It  was  a  moment  of  great  anxiety. 
The  levitation  was  accomplished  rapidly,  but  without  any 
jarring  or  jolting  or  jerking.  .  .  . 

"There  is  more  to  follow.  Eusapia  was  lifted  up  still 
farther  with  her  chair,  from  the  upper  part  of  the  table,  in 
such  a  way  that  No.  11,  on  one  side,  and  I,  on  the  other, 
were  able  to  pass  our  hands  under  her  feet  and  under  those 
of  the  chair.  .  .  ." 

These  are  the  conclusions  of  Professor  Porro: 

"The  phenomena  are  real.  They  cannot  be  explained 
either  by  fraud  or  by  hallucination.  .  .  .  While  admitting 
it  as  the  most  probable  hypothesis  that  the  intelligent  beings 
to  whom  we  owe  these  psychical  phenomena  are  preexisting, 
independent  entities,  and  that  they  only  derive  from  us  the 
conditions  necessary  for  their  manifestation  in  a  physical 
plane  accessible  to  our  senses,  ought  we  to  admit  also  that 
they  are  really  the  spirits  of  the  dead? 

"To  this  question  I  will  reply  that  I  do  not  feel  that  I  am 
as  yet  capable  of  giving  a  decisive  answer. 

"Still,  I  should  be  inclined  to  admit  it,  if  I  did  not  see 
the  possibility  that  these  phenomena  might  form  part  of  a 
scheme  of  things  still  more  vast.  In  fact,  nothing  hinders 
us  from  believing  in  the  existence  of  forms  of  life  wholly 
different  from  those  which  we  know,  and  of  which  the  life 
of  human  beings  before  birth  and  after  death  forms  only  a 
special  case — just  as  the  organic  life  of  man  is  a  special 
case  of  animal  life  in  general.  .  .  ." 

§  15.  Experiments   at   Palermo — 1902;   at   Rome   and   at 
Paris — 1905 

In  July  and  August,  1902,  a  series  of  experiments  was 
held  at  Palermo,   under  Dr.   Carmelo  Samona,  which  are 


Eusapia  Palladino  75 

reported  in  the  Annals  of  Psychical  Science,  1903,  pp.  72- 
82.  (French  edition.)  Again,  in  1905,  at  Rome  and  at 
Paris,  Eusapia  gave  a  series  of  seances,  in  the  former  city 
to  Dr.  H.  Carreras — which  were  reviewed  in  the  Revue 
Scientific  et  morale  du  spiritisime  ( 1 904— 5,  pp.  585-91); 
and  in  Paris,  to  Count  de  Grammont — a  full  report  of 
which,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  not  been  published.  These 
experiments,  while  they  are  doubtless  of  interest,  can  be  said 
to  add  little  to  the  evidence  for  the  supernormal  in  the  case 
of  Mme.  Palladino — inasmuch  as  the  reports  do  not  state 
the  amount  of  control  exercised,  and  in  other  ways  are  im- 
perfect— being  extremely  abbreviated. 

§  16.  Experiments  at  Genoa — 1906-7 

In  1906-7  Professor  Morselli  renewed  his  investigations 
of  Eusapia,  and  the  seances  conducted  by  him  are  among 
the  most  remarkable  and  convincing  that  have  ever  been  held. 
They  at  all  events  completely  converted  Professor  Morselli, 
and  so  impressed  him  that  he  decided  to  publish  his  volu- 
minous book,  which  he  had  held  in  reserve,  even  after  the 
proofs  had  been  sent  in,  because  of  laudable  scientific  scruples! 
I  give  a  resume  of  these  seances  herewith,  as  they  were 
reported  at  the  time. 

Professor  Morselli  has  noted  no  less  than  thirty-nine  dis- 
tinct types  of  phenomena,  which  he  lists  as  follows : 

1.  Oscillations  and  movements  of  the  table  without  sig- 
nificance. 

2.  Movements  and  beatings  of  the  table  having  a  sig- 
nificance. 

3.  Complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

4.  Movements  of  various  objects,  as  soon  as  touched  by 
the  hands  or  body  of  the  medium. 


'^6  Eusapia  Palladino 

5.  Movements,  undulations,  and  swellings  of  the  curtain:. 
of  the  cabinet. 

6.  Movements  and  swelling  out  of  the  medium's  clothes. 

7.  Oscillations  of  the  table  without  contact. 

8.  Independent  liftings  of  the  table. 

9.  Movements  occasioned  in  material  objects  by  the  hands 
being  voluntarily  turned  toward  them,  but  at  a  distance,  and 
gestures  made  from  or  toward  the  object. 

10.  Spontaneous  movements  and  displacements  of  dif- 
ferent objects  at  various  distances  from  the  medium. 

11.  Bringing  of  distant  objects  on  to  the  table. 

12.  Displacements  of  the  seats  oi  the  experimenters. 

13.  Movements  of  operation  of  mechanical  instruments 
placed  at  a  distance. 

14.  Spontaneous  changes  of  weight  in  a  scale. 

15.  Change  of  weight  in  the  body  of  the  medium. 

16.  Raising  of  the  medium's  body  in  the  air. 

17.  Wind   from   the  cabinet. 

18.  Intense  cold. 

19.  Radiations  from  the  head  and  body  of  the  medium. 

20.  Blows,  raps,  and  other  sounds  in  the  table. 

21.  Blows  and  raps  at  a  distance  from  the  medium. 

22.  Sounds  of  musical  instruments. 

23.  Sounds  of  hands,  feet,  etc.,  being  moved. 

24.  Sounds  of  human  voices. 

25.  Mysterious  signs  left  at  a  distance. 

26.  Direct  writing. 

27.  Impressions  in  plastic  substances. 

28.  Apports. 

29.  Touching,  feeling,  grasping,  by  invisible  hands. 

30.  Organization  of  solid  forms  having  the  character 
of  members  of  the  human  body. 


Eusapia  Palladino  ^jj 

31.  Organization  of  hands,  naked,  and  distinguishable 
to  the  touch. 

32.  Comph'cated  actions  of  materialized  forms,  tangible, 
but  invisible. 

33.  Appearance  of  luminous  points. 

34.  Appearance  of  whitish  clouds  or  mists. 

35.  Formation  of  dark  prolongations  of  the  body  of  the 
medium. 

36.  Forms  having  the  appearance  of  arms  and  hands 
coming  out  of  the  cabinet. 

37.  Appearance  of  hands. 

38.  Appearance  of  obscure  forms,  of  indeterminate  char- 
acter, and  not  vtry  distinct. 

39.  Appearance  of  forms  having  determinate  and  per- 
sonal characters. 

At  the  seances  attended  by  Professor  Morselli,  several  re- 
markable phenomena  occurred.  His  arm  was  seized  by  a 
big  hand,  of  which  he  felt  the  fingers  distinctly — while  he 
was  holding  the  hand  of  Eusapia  next  himself.  The  lamp 
was  switched  on  and  off  several  times — the  switch  being 
at  a  distance  of  several  feet  from  the  medium  and  beyond 
her  reach.  Professor  Morselli  was  then  drawn  backward 
in  his  chair  several  inches.  A  chair  from  within  the  cabi- 
net came  out,  and  under  the  conditions  of  the  strictest  con- 
trol climbed  on  the  seance  table.  A  metronome  was  started 
and  stopped  several  times,  and  finally  conveyed  on  to  the 
seance  table  by  invisible  hands,  where  it  again  began  to  beat 
time.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  seance,  several  large  objects 
at  some  distance  from  Eusapia  changed  their  positions — mov- 
ing several  inches  along  the  floor. 

The  second  seance  was  far  more  remarkable,  and  the  re- 
port deserves  to  be  quoted  at  some  length.    It  reads  in  part; 


yS  Eusapla  Palladino 

"Second  Seance.  Eusapia  was  again  carefully  examined 
by  Professor  MorselH.  The  same  persons  took  the  same 
places  round  the  table.  The  room  was  lighted  by  a  tiny 
night  lamp  which,  after  a  minute  or  two,  made  it  possible 
for  the  sitters  to  see  sufficiently  clearly.  .  .  .  Eusapia  pressed 
my  (M.  Barzini's)  hand  forcibly  from  time  to  time;  each 
time  she  did  so  we  heard  on  the  table  a  thud  which  seemed 
to  be  given  by  a  clenched  fist. 

"A  white  hand  came  out  of  the  cabinet  and  touched  Pro- 
fessor Morselli  on  the  shoulder,  while  he  showed  us  the  left 
hand  of  the  medium  under  his  control  and  I  did  the  same 
with  the  right. 

"These  mysterious  hands  which,  for  very  brief  moments, 
often  appeared,  generally  issued  from  the  opening  between 
the  curtains,  but  sometimes  even  from  their  surface;  they 
seemed  to  come  through  the  stuff." 

To  the  chair  of  Eusapia  two  vertical  rods  had  been  tied, 
to  which  a  frame  of  wood  (13  cm.  by  18  cm.)  had  been  at- 
tached containing  two  photographic  plates,  intended,  if  pos- 
sible, to  register  radiations  from  the  head  of  the  medium. 
All  the  knots  had  been  fastened  by  Professor  Morselli,  who 
had  used  blue  and  white  threads  easily  recognizable. 

"We  heard,"  continues  the  Editor  of  the  Corriere,  "a 
delicate  and  restrained  sound  behind  the  medium;  I  looked 
and  saw  the  frames  slowly  moving.  We  assured  ourselves 
that  the  controls  were  as  they  should  be.  Moreover,  Eusa- 
pia's  hands  were  visibly  resting  on  the  table  with  ours.  We 
waited  with  curiosity.  There  was  no  doubt  that  the  knots 
were  being  patiently  undone,  under  our  very  eyes.  In  truth, 
after  a  few  minutes,  the  frame  raised  itself  and  disappeared 
into  the  cabinet.  It  did  not  fall,  for  we  should  have  heard 
the  noise.  Dr.  Morselli  remarked :  'It  seems  to  be  in  some 
one's  hands!' 

"He  had  scarcely  finished  speaking  when  the  frame  re- 
appeared, with  an  oscillating  movement,  and  placed  itself 


Eusapia  Palladino  79 

on  the  head  of  the  medium ;  on  it  was  a  rod  which  cheerily- 
tapped  out  the  rhythm  of  a  tambourine.  We  recognized  it 
as  one  of  the  two  rods  which  were  attached  to  the  back  of 
the  chair.  After  a  little  while  the  frame  and  the  rod  fell 
noisily  on  the  ground.  'I  had,  however,  fastened  them  well!' 
observed  Professor  IVIorselli,  regretting  somewhat  that  his 
photographic  experiment  should  have  failed.  .  .  . 

"All  this  time,  everyone  could  see  the  medium  motionless 
in  her  place,  under  our  control,  outside  of,  and  almost  in- 
different to,  the  phenomena  which  were  produced  behind  her, 
and  which  lasted  long  enough  to  exclude  the  possibility  of 
such  tricks  as  are  favored  by  rapidity. 

"At  one  moment  we  saw  the  dynamometer,  which  was 
almost  touching  the  bottom  of  the  curtain,  upon  the  table, 
move  about  and  disappear  behind  the  curtain.  We  discussed 
what  could  have  happened  to  it.  At  once  a  hand  came  out 
of  the  cabinet  on  to  the  head  of  the  medium;  it  held  the 
dynamometer  and  seemed  to  show  it  to  us.  Then  it  re- 
tired ;  after  some  seconds  the  dynamometer  reappeared  on 
the  table.  Dr.  Morselli  seized  it,  and  examined  the  gradua- 
tion to  find  out  whether  the  instrument  had  been  under  any 
pressure.  The  needle  showed  a  pressure  of  110  kilogram- 
meters — which  is,  as  we  know,  equivalent  to  the  effort  neces- 
sary to  raise  lOO  kilogs.  I  meter  from  the  ground  during  the 
space  of  half  a  second. 

"At  another  moment  Eusapia  said  to  Dr.  Morselli,  'At- 
tention!' and  a  curious  phenomenon  followed.  I  must  first 
say  that,  being  put  on  tiie  qui-vive  by  this  announcement,  we 
assured  ourselves  that  the  control  was  secure.  Between 
science  and  public  opinion,  Eusapia  looked  as  though  she  were 
guarded  by  two  policemen,  we  had  contact  with  her  hands, 
her  knees,  and  her  feet.  She  strongly  contracted  her  fore- 
arms, and  Dr.  Morselli  felt  himself  touched  in  several  places 
by  the  moving  curtain.  He  thought  he  observed  behind  the 
curtain  the  presence  of  a  complete  human  form  whose  body 
leaned  against  his,  the  arms  pressing  against  him ;  we  all 
saw  the  arms  wrapped  round  by  the  curtain. 

"I  got  up  suddenly,  drawing  the  medium  against  me,  and 


8o  Eusapia  Palladino 

I  put  my  head  between  the  opening  of  the  curtains  to  look 
into  the  cabinet.  The  light  which  penetrated  through  the 
openings  made  by  the  movement  of  the  curtain  was  suf- 
ficient to  light  up  the  interior  of  the  cabinet.  It  was  empty. 
Professor  Morselli  felt  behind  the  curtain  at  the  spot  where 
it  was  bulged  out,  and  was  assured  that  it  was  empty.  What, 
from  the  outside,  appeared  to  be  a  moving  human  body  cov- 
ered by  the  curtain,  was,  on  the  inside,  a  cavity  in  the  stuff, 
an  empty  mold. 

"It  reminded  one  of  Wells'  Invisible  Man.  I  then  wished 
to  touch  the  bulging  part  of  the  curtain,  on  the  outside,  with 
my  right  hand,  which  was  free,  and  I  encountered  the  ef- 
fectual resistance  of  a  living  head.  I  distinguished  the  fore- 
head, I  moved  the  palm  of  my  hand  downward  on  to  the 
cheeks  and  on  the  nose,  and  when  I  touched  the  lips  the  mouth 
opened  and  seized  me  under  the  thumb ;  I  distinctly  felt 
the  strain  of  a  clean  bite.  At  the  same  moment  a  hand 
pressed  against  my  chest  and  pushed  me  back,  the  curtains 
swelled  out  and  fell  back  inert.  All  this  time  the  medium 
remained  in  view.  She  was  separated  by  at  least  half  a  yard 
from  the  Invisible  Man." 

[We  must  point  out  that  the  medium's  cabinet  was  formed 
by  curtains  stretched  diagonally  in  front  of  an  angle  of  the 
room,  where  there  were  neither  doors  nor  windows.  In- 
side there  was  nothing  but  a  chair  and  a  few  small  objects: 
a  mandolin,  fairy  bells,  a  trumpet,  a  block  of  clay  for  ob- 
taining casts  of  human  hands.  This  phenomenon  of  semi- 
materialization  behind  a  curtain  is  said  to  be  obtained  fre- 
quently in  seances  with  this  medium.] 

"The  fairy  bells  arrived  on  the  table,  as  if  they  fell  from 
the  skies,  and  there,  completely  isolated,  while  we  watched 
the  toy  curiously,  it  played  for  some  seconds.  It  is  in  the  form 
of  a  little  coffee  mill ;  both  hands  are  required  for  playing 
this  instrument,  one  to  hold  it  firmly,  the  other  to  turn  a 
small  handle.  Immediately  afterwards  we  heard  the  mando- 
lin sliding  along  the  floor,  M.  Bozzano  saw  it  come  out  of 
the  cabinet  and  stop  behind  Professor  Morselli,  where  it 
made  two  or  three  sounds.    Afterwards  it  came  on  to  the 


Eusapia  Palladino  8i 

table,  went  all  round  and  finished  by  laying  itself  in  my  arms 
like  a  baby.  In  this  position  it  began  jingling  again  in  my 
honor,  while  I  observed  its  complete  isolation.  From  my 
arms  it  returned  to  the  table  and  continued  to  make  con- 
fused sounds.  When  we  placed  our  hands  on  the  cords  we 
felt  them  vibrating ;  and  in  this  way  we  had  the  proof  of 
touch  as  to  the  reality  of  this  phenomenon." 

In  the  course  of  the  third  seance  a  very  typical  case  of 
fraud  was  observed,  which  may  throw  some  light  on  the 
trickery  and,  apparently  unconscious,  fraud  which  this  me- 
dium resorts  to  so  frequently.  While  the  experimenters 
were  forming  a  chain  around  the  table,  at  which  the  medium 
was  also  seated,  with  her  back  turned  to  the  cabinet,  Pro- 
fessor Morselli  called  out  the  three  letters:  "E.  T.  V. !" 
This  signified,  according  to  a  preconcerted  arrangement 
among  the  investigators:  "Eugene  Torelli-Viollier,"  or  more 
precisely,  "the  medium  has  had  recourse  to  the  trick  observed 
by  M.  E.  Torelli-Viollier,  i.e.,  has  withdrawn  one  of  her 
hands  or  feet  from  the  control  of  her  two  neighbors."  Eusa- 
pia had  in  fact  liberated  her  left  hand  from  that  of  Professor 
Morselli,  and  stretched  out  the  freed  hand  toward  a  trumpet 
which  was  on  the  table,  in  order  to  seize  it.  But  she  had 
not  time  to  do  this,  for  the  Professor,  as  he  pronounced  the 
three  warning  letters,  possessed  himself  again  of  the  fugitive 
hand,  and  the  experimenters  increased  their  vigilance.  Eusa- 
pia understood,  and  said,  in  a  saddened  tone:  "Don't  say 
that!" 

"At  this  moment,"  says  the  reporter,  "while  the  control 
was  certainly  more  rigorous  than  ever,  the  trumpet  was  raised 
from  the  table  and  disappeared  into  the  cabinet,  passing  be- 
tween the  medium  and  Dr.  Alorselli.  Evidently  the  medium 
had  attempted  to  do  with  her  hand  what  she  subsequently 


82  Eusapia  Palladino 

did  medi'umistically :  such  a  futile  and  foolish  attempt  at 
fraud  is  inexplicable.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the  matter: 
this  time  the  medium  did  not  touch,  and  could  not  touch,  the 
trumpet;  and  even  if  she  could  have  touched  it  she  could 
not  have  conveyed  it  into  the  cabinet,  which  was  behind  her 
back. 

"I  was  placed  behind  Professor  Morselli,  quite  close  to 
the  curtain,  and  I  was  already  watching  the  medium  from 
the  side,  when,  suddenly,  the  trumpet  came  out  again  from 
the  cabinet,  passing  through  the  opening  at  the  side  of  the 
curtain,  and  came  toward  the  Professor  and  me.  I  was  the 
only  one  who  saw  it,  but  the  others  heard  it,  because  the  ob- 
ject gave  two  stout  blows  on  Dr.  Morselli's  shoulders,  with 
some  degree  of  violence,  perhaps  to  punish  him  for  his  'E. 
T.  V.,'  and  then  it  retired. 

"I  at  once  put  my  hand  inside  the  cabinet  and  asked: 
'Where  has  it  gone?' 

"The  trumpet  immediately  came  into  my  hand.  I  took 
it  and  showed  it  to  those  present ;  then  I  held  it  again  inside 
the  cabinet,  saying:  'Take  it!'  It  was  taken  from  me;  then 
it  returned  to  the  table,  passing  through  the  central  opening 
in  the  curtains — and  so  it  went  on.  All  this  time  the  me- 
dium's hands  remained  motionless,  separated  from  each  other, 
between  those  of  her  two  guardians." 

The  room  was  lighted  feebly  by  the  dim  light  of  a  night 
lamp. 

The  reporter  then  speaks  of  certain  curious  apparitions 
which,  from  time  to  time,  came  out  from  the  curtains.  They 
generally  took  the  form  of  a  human  head,  or  rather  of  two 
clasped  hands  enveloped  in  a  black  veil.  Behind  this  head, 
or  these  hands,  stretched  a  sort  of  long  neck  or  arm.  Some- 
times these  formless  and  indistinct  members  touched  one  of 
the  experimenters.  At  this  seance,  as  at  all  others,  the  bulg- 
ing of  the  curtain  was  often  observed,  assuming,  more  or  less 
completely,  the  outlines  of  a  human  form ;  this  form  offered 


Eusapia  Palladino  83 

a  certain  amount  of  resistance  to  the  touch.  At  one  time 
the  medium  invited  i\I.  Barzini  to  kneel  on  the  table,  and 
this  gentleman  resigned  himself  to  this  uncomfortable  and 
somewhat  ridiculous  position.  Stretching  his  hand  up  toward 
the  rr.bfnet  M.  Barzini  was  able  almost  to  touch  the  top  of 
the  curtain ;  that  is  to  saj',  he  reached  to  a  distance  of  nearly 
four  feet  from  the  medium's  head,  and  about  seven  feet  six 
inches  from  the  floor.  At  this  height  his  hand  was  touched 
from  behind  the  curtain,  but  very  slightly,  as  if  by  a  vapor- 
ous body.  As  he  lowered  his  hand  the  touch  became  firmer ; 
when  he  held  his  arm  out  horizontally  he  was  able  to  recog- 
nize that  the  object  which  touched  him  was  a  hand,  which 
feebly  grasped  his  own,  through  the  material  of  the  curtain. 
When  he  lowered  his  arm  still  more,  toward  the  head  of 
the  medium,  the  pressure  became  firm  and  resolute — the  mys- 
terious hand  acquired  force  and  energy.  He  raised  his  arm, 
and  the  pressure  lost  consistency,  until,  when  he  reached  the 
top  of  the  curtain,  the  experimenter  again  only  felt  the  uncer- 
tain and  vaporous  touch  w'hich  he  had  felt  at  first.  Details  and 
observations  of  this  nature  throw  more  light  on  the  manner 
in  which  the  psychic  force  exteriorizes  itself  than  many  trea- 
tises on  mediumship. 

While  M.  Barzini  was  communicating  his  observations 
to  those  present,  the  medium  said  to  him:  "Don't  be  fright- 
ened :  pay  attention !"  And  the  table  rose  twice,  with  M. 
Barzini  upon  it;  while  at  the  same  time  the  two  persons 
guarding  Eusapia  felt  themselves  simultaneously  touched  by 
hands,  the  one  on  the  shoulder  and  the  other  at  the  back  of 
the  head.  "Thus  a  weight  of  about  i6o  pounds  was  being 
moved,  while  one  hand  was  manifesting  well  above  the  me- 
dium's head,  and  two  other  hands  were  touching  the  experi- 
menters on  either  side  of  the  medium." 


84  Eusapia  Palladino 

The  Fourth  Seance.  M.  Barzini  observes  that  on  several 
different  occasions  he  was  able  to  grasp  the  mysterious  fugi- 
tive hands  which  touched  him.  "The  feeling  to  which  this 
gave  rise  was  very  curious,"  he  says;  "they  did  not  escape 
from  my  grasp,  they  dissolved,  so  to  speak.  They  slipped 
out  of  my  hands  as  if  they  had  collapsed — they  seemed  like 
hands  that  had  very  rapidly  melted  and  dissolved,  after  mani- 
festing a  high  degree  of  energy,  and  an  absolutely  lifelike  ap- 
pearance while  performing  actions.  It  should  be  stated  that 
these  observations  have  always  been  so  rapid  and  so  rare  that 
they  did  not  leave  any  very  clear  impressions  on  my  mind. 
It  is  necessary  to  be  careful  with  regard  to  rapid  subjective 
impressions  and  only  accept  the  genuineness  of  facts  repeated- 
ly proved.  Proved,  that  is  to  say,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to 
prove  them." 

The  writer  in  the  Corriere  della  Sera  also  speaks  of  the 
way  in  which  he  and  Dr.  Morselli  simultaneously  gave  chase 
to  the  mysterious  hands  w^hich  were  scratching  and  rapping 
on  the  table,  while  the  medium's  hands  and  those  of  the  in- 
vestigators were  all  visible  on  its  surface.  The  failure  of 
these  attempts  seemed  to  amuse  the  table  and  it  laughed — 
if  one  may  be  allowed  to  speak  of  it  as  a  person — by  little 
sharp  movements  which  are  familiar ;  subsequently  it  showed 
its  satisfaction  by  two  huge  levitations  of  quite  a  new  kind. 
"I  might  almost  call  them  chronometric  levitations,"  adds 
the  reporter.  "The  table  rose  in  the  air  to  the  height  of  our 
shoulders,  completely  isolated,  and  while  Dr.  Venzano 
counted  the  seconds  aloud,  so  as  to  time  the  duration  of  the 
phenomenon,  the  table  marked  each  second  as  it  was  counted 
by  raising  and  lowering  one  of  its  ends ;  and,  strange  to  say, 
it  was  the  end  farthest  from  the  medium  which  thus  oscil- 
lated.   As  we  followed  the  count  of  seconds  we  were  amazed 


Eusapia  Palladino  8^ 

at  its  length.  But  the  tahle  evidently  felt  some  pride  in  its 
performance,  as  it  continued  pluckily ;  when  sixty  seconds  had 
been  counted,  the  table  fell  back  to  the  ground ;  it  had  reached 
the  record  of  a  minute,  not  hitherto  attained  by  any  aero- 
plane.^ But  it  was  not  yet  satisfied;  a  moment  later  it  rose 
up  again  to  the  same  height,  and  the  count  began  again ; 
this  time  it  managed  to  reach  78  seconds  before  it  fell  to  the 
ground." 

On  a  little  camp  bed,  which  had  been  fitted  up  in  the 
cabinet,  a  lump  of  prepared  modelers'  cla}^,  weighing  a  little 
less  than  six  pounds,  had  been  placed  on  a  board,  with  its 
surface  carefully  smoothed.  ]\I.  Barzini  wished  to  reach 
this,  but  it  was  at  the  back  of  the  bed,  so  far  that  he  could 
not  do  so.  He  raised  the  curtain  at  the  extreme  left  of  the 
cabinet,  and  was  just  extending  his  hands  when  the  lump 
of  clay  rose  up  from  the  bed  and  came  to  meet  him,  as  though 
to  save  him  the  trouble.  It  stopped  at  the  level  of  the  jour- 
nalist's chest,  after  having  brushed  against  Professor  Mor- 
selli's  shoulder.  It  looked  as  if  a  plate  were  being  held  with 
both  hands  by  a  well-trained  servant;  this  object  remained 
isolated  in  the  air,  in  contact  with  nothing  except  the  corner 
of  the  curtain,  which  was  slightly  folded  at  this  point.  The 
object  waited  politely  until  M.  Barzini  took  it,  which  he 
did  carefully,  without  feeling  any  resistance;  just  as  he  took 
it,  however,  he  felt  a  sudden  increase  in  its  weight,  as  though 
someone  had  let  go  of  it  and  left  it  in  his  hands.  The  marks 
of  three  fingers  were  found  on  the  lump  of  claj'. 

Unknown  to  the  others  Dr.  Morselli  had  brought  with 
him  a  piece  of  string,  about  sixteen  inches  long;  this  he  laid 
on  the  table.  The  string  disappeared,  then  came  back,  shak- 
ing like  the  tail  of  an  animal.     The  Professor  examined  it 

,  ^  Written  in  1907. 


86  Eusapia  Palladino 

and  then  said,  in  a  tone  of  disappointment:  "But  it  is  as  it 
was  before !  I  wanted  to  see  it  knotted."  It  evidently  had  not 
understood  what  was  expected  of  it.  It  was  not  lacking  in 
good  will,  however,  as  it  at  once  proved  by  disappearing 
again,  and  returning  shortly  afterwards  neatly  knotted  in 
three  different  places.  The  knots  were  all  alike,  well  made 
and  symmetrical,  placed  at  equal  distances  from  each  other. 
The  medium  entered  the  cabinet  and  was  fastened  carefully 
to  the  bed,  her  hands  and  feet  tied ;  the  investigators  remained 
at  a  distance  of  about  two  yards  from  the  curtain;  in  the 
space  thus  left  vacant  stood  the  table  with  no  one  at  it; 
nevertheless,  it  moved,  rose  and  fell,  slid  over  the  floor,  and 
at  last  leaned  over  toward  the  cabinet,  lifting  its  two  legs  in 
the  air.  A  sound  was  heard  like  that  of  a  pencil  writing 
rapidly.  As  M.  Barzini  had  left  several  sheets  of  paper  on 
the  table  it  was  thought  that  direct  writing  would  be  ob- 
tained. When  the  sound  had  ceased  the  journalist  went  to 
pick  up  the  sheets;  they  each  in  turn  lifted  one  of  their 
corners  as  though  to  make  it  easier  for  him  to  lay  hold  of 
them.  "They  are  lifting  themselves,"  said  M.  Barzini,  "as 
if  equal,  steady  breaths  of  wind,  coming  from  my  direction, 
were  acting  on  each  of  them  in  an  orderly  and  discreet  way. 
The  sheets  are  all  blank." 

The  Fifth  Seance.  In  the  course  of  this  seance  the  in- 
vestigators decided  that  the  medium  should  go  into  the  cabi- 
net with  a  view  to  obtain  materializations  if  possible,  but 
they  then  remembered  that  they  had  forgotten  the  cords.  In 
spite  of  this  they  placed  the  medium  on  the  little  bed.  But 
she  kept  on  complaining  and  asking  to  be  tied :  she  is  aware 
that  the  phenomena  are  not  considered  of  much  value  unless 
she  is  tied.     Under  these  conditions,  and  after  waiting  some 


Eusapia  Palladino  87 

time,  a  round  form,  looking  like  a  pale  face  surrounded  by- 
white  draper}^  appeared  twice  in  the  opening  of  the  curtains. 
No  sound  was  heard,  although  it  had  been  noticed  that  the 
least  movement  of  anj-one  on  the  bed  caused  loud  crackings 
to  resound  in  it ;  but  this  is  the  only  indication  there  was  of 
the  genuineness  of  the  phenomena. 

Eusapia  came  out  of  the  cabinet,  took  off  all  her  white 
clothing,  threw  down  even  her  handkerchief,  keeping  on 
only  her  skirt  and  bodice,  and  returned  to  her  position  on  the 
camp  bed.  Twenty  minutes  later  the  curtains  opened  again 
and  the  face  of  a  woman  appeared  surrounded  with  bandages. 
The  medium  had  been  completely  undressed  and  searched 
before  the  seance. 

The  Sixth  and  Last  Seance.  This  time  Eusapia  was  tied 
to  the  bed  in  an  original  manner.  The  investigators  pro- 
vided themselves  with  a  special  kind  of  strong  cord  used  in 
asylums  to  fasten  violent  maniacs — a  thick,  broad,  greenish 
band,  which  can  be  tied  very  tightly,  without'  risk  of  cutting 
the  flesh  (as  would  be  the  case  with  cord)  and  can  be 
knotted  in  the  most  complicated  manner.  The  operation  was 
intrusted  to  Professor  Morselli,  who,  as  an  alienist,  was 
specially  qualified  for  this  task.  He  secured  the  wrists  and 
ankles  of  the  medium  in  such  a  way  that  the  hands  and  feet 
could  not  slip  through  the  knots,  and  made  them  fast  to 
iron  rings,  through  which  the  lateral  bars  of  the  bed  passed. 

A  red  electric  lamp  of  ten-candle  power  was  lighted.  The 
table,  which  was  standing  isolated  in  the  free  space,  moved 
from  time  to  time.  The  curtains  opened,  allowing  the  in- 
terior of  the  cabinet  to  be  seen,  as  well  as  the  head  and  feet 
of  the  medium.  These  phenomena  were  inexplicable  con- 
sidering that  the  position  of  the  medium  rendered  movement 


88  Eusapia  Palladino 

on  her  part  impossible — but  these  were  the  only  results  pro- 
duced except  that  many  small  lights  were  seen  about  twenty 
inches  above  the  medium's  head ;  and  at  one  moment  a  hand 
was  also  perceived  at  the  upper  part  of  the  curtain,  and  again 
a  little  lower  down ;  this  was  seen  several  times. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  part  of  the  seance  during  which  the  me- 
dium remained  outside  the  cabinet.  The  room  was  then  dim- 
ly lighted  by  the  night  lamp.  A  mandolin,  which  had  been 
placed  on  the  bed,  after  having  sounded  several  times  at  a 
distance,  came  on  to  the  table,  where,  absolutely  isolated,  it 
began  to  play.  It  was  plainly  visible  before  the  very  eyes 
of  the  sitters.  They  felt  all  round  to  verify  its  complete 
isolation.  Eusapia  was  held  by  her  hands,  one  of  which  was 
on  the  edge  of  the  table,  the  other  on  her  knees.  The  mando- 
lin went  on  playing;  nothing  very  melodious,  of  course,  but 
the  strings  vibrated  forcibly  and  clearly.  The  investigators 
placed  their  hands  a  few  inches  above  the  strings,  and  these 
were  felt  to  vibrate  more  strongly  than  ever.  Professor 
Morselli  seized  the  handle  of  the  mandolin  with  his  left 
hand,  and  the  instrument  still  continued  sounding,  at  in- 
tervals, beginning  again  every  time  the  investigator  ex- 
pressed a  wish  that  it  should  do  so.  Each  sound,  however, 
corresponded  exactly  to  movements  of  the  fingers  of  the  me- 
dium, who,  at  a  distance,  performed  the  action  of  playing,  and 
who  finally  pinched  out  the  last  notes  on  Professor  Morselli's 
forehead.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  mandolin  does  not 
belong  to  Eusapia,  that  it  was  bought  by  the  investigators, 
and  that,  as  M.  Barzini  saj's,  "it  is  a  modest  instrument  in- 
capable of  fraud." 

M.  Barzini  took  a  tiny  musical  box  which  had  also  been 
purchased  by  the  investigators,  placed  it  on  the  table  and  said 
to  the  medium:  'Tlease  make  it  play  without  touching  it." 


Eusapia  Palladino  89 

She  held  out  her  hands  above  the  instrument,  moving  her 
fingers.  After  many  useless  efforts,  two  feeble  sounds  were 
at  last  heard  from  the  interior  of  the  instrument. 

"Did  you  hear?"  asked  Eusapia. 

"No,"  said  the  experimenter,  "try  again." 

She  made  another  attempt.  Scarcely  half  a  minute  had 
passed  when  the  box  again  resounded,  giving  forth  five  or 
six  notes  without  any  motion  of  the  handle.  "It  was  as  if 
an  invisible  hand  had  entered  the  box  and  had  touched  the 
little  metallic  tongues  with  its  nail.  It  was  evident  that  some 
unknown  force  was  working  in  the  interior  of  the  musical 
box,  for  it  was  even  slightly  displaced  on  the  table.  Eusapia 
continued  her  attempts  and  the  phenomenon  was  repeated 
with  greater  intensity  and  obviousness;  finally,  the  musical 
box  tilted  up  and  began  rolling  on  its  edge,  and  in  this  posi- 
tion it  made  the  entire  circuit  of  the  table." 

§  17.  Experiments  at  Turin — 1907  (Lombroso) 

In  1907  Professor  Lombroso,  aided  by  his  two  assistants, 
Dr.  Imoda  and  Dr.  Audenino,  held  a  series  of  seances  in 
Turin.  These  seances  were  held  in  the  clinical  chamber  of 
ps3^chiatry  in  the  University,  and  were  attended  by  a  num- 
ber of  eminent  men.  The  unanimous  opinion  was  that 
"even  the  cleverest  trickery  could  not  begin  to  explain  the 
majority  of  the  phenomena  observed."  The  account  of  the 
seances  first  appeared  in  La  Stampa,  a  well-known  Italian 
paper,  and  was  reprinted,  in  part,  in  The  Annals  of  Psychi- 
cal Science.    The  account  proceeds: 

"Two  doctors  took  control,  one  on  cither  side  of  the  me- 
dium. An  electric  lamp,  of  ten-candle  power,  hung  from  the 
ceiling,  and  clearly  lit  up  the  room. 


90  Eusapia  Palladino 

The  medium  asked  one  of  the  persons  who  formed  the 
chain  to  rap  on  the  table  with  the  palm  of  the  hand  in  some 
sort  of  rh3'thm.  The  experimenter  rapped  three  times  and 
leaned  his  hand  lightly  on  the  table  at  the  spot  where  he  had 
rapped.  At  the  same  spot,  an  instant  later,  exactly  the  same 
rhythm  was  heard  repeated,  like  an  echo.  The  red  light  was 
now  turned  on  and  the  white  light  turned  ofiF. 

A  footstool  of  common  wood,  which  was  inside  the  me- 
dium's cabinet,  shook  and  fell ;  the  curtain  also  shook ;  be- 
hind it  a  hand  grasped  repeatedly  the  extended  hands  of  those 
present ;  shook  them,  and  caressed  them.  Suddenly,  to  the 
surprise  of  all,  a  little  closed  hand,  the  arm  covered  with 
a  dark  sleeve,  showed  itself  in  the  full  light,  quite  visibly; 
it  was  pink,  plump,  and  fresh.  "Surprise  did  not  prevent 
our  at  once  giving  attention  to  the  control  of  the  medium ; 
her  hands  were  firmly  inclosed  in  those  of  the  two  watch- 
ful doctors."  A  few  minutes  later  a  cold  wind  came  from 
behind  the  curtain,  which  suddenly  opened  as  if  it  had  been 
opened  by  two  hands,  a  human  head  came  out,  with  a  pale, 
haggard  face,  of  sinister  evil  aspect.  It  lingered  a  moment 
and  then  disappeared. 

The  wooden  stool  rose  up  in  the  air  and  seemed  to  want 
to  leave  the  cabinet,  pushing  aside  the  curtains.  It  was 
liberated  from  the  curtains,  then  it  continued  to  ascend  in 
an  inclined  position  toward  the  circle.  Several  hands 
stretched  out  following  the  curious  phenomenon  and  lightly 
touched  the  object. 

The  woman's  small  hand  then  reappeared  near  the  cur- 
tain, seized  one  of  the  feet  of  the  footstool,  and  pushed  it. 
Signor  Mucchi  broke  the  chain  and,  by  a  rapid  action,  seized 
the  warm  hand,  which  at  once  seemed  to  dissolve  and  dis- 
appeared. Immediately  observations  were  made  to  ascer- 
tain if  the  medium's  two  hands  were  well  controlled ;  such 
was  found  to  be  the  case.  The  footstool  kept  on  rising,  and 
passed  over  the  heads  of  the  sitters,  but  at  this  moment  the 
medium  seemed  in  distress,  and  cried  out:  "It  will  kill  us! 
Catch  it !"  The  hands  that  were  following  the  movements 
gf  the  small  piece  of  furniture  then  seized  hold  of  it  to  with- 


Eusapia  Palladino  91 

draw  it  from  this  perilous  position,  but  an  invisible  force 
withdrew  it  to  the  center  of  the  table,  where  it  finally  re- 
mained at  repose. 

At  the  close  of  the  seance,  the  reporter  placed  his  hand  on 
the  deep  scar  which  the  medium  has  on  the  left  side  of  her 
head  and  felt  a  cold,  strong,  continuous  breeze  issuing  from 
it,  like  a  human  breath.  He  subsequently  felt  the  same  cold 
breeze  issuing,  though  less  strongly,  from  the  tips  of  her 
fingers. 

Second  Seance.  In  order  to  eliminate  all  doubt  as  to 
whether  some  of  the  sitters  might  have  produced,  or  helped 
to  produce,  the  phenomena,  it  was  decided  to  connect  every- 
one by  forming  a  double  chain :  the  first  six  being  round  the 
table,  the  other  eight,  behind,  joining  hands  in  a  second  row 
connected  at  each  end  with  the  inner  chain.  Every-  move- 
ment was  thus  under  the  observation  of  the  next  sitter.  Two 
small  tables  were  placed  in  the  cabinet,  on  which  were  placed 
a  toy  piano,  an  otoscope  for  scientific  experiments,  a  tam- 
bourine, a  hand  bell,  a  trumpet,  and  a  few  other  small  ob- 
jects. 

"The  trance  began  this  time  with  the  familiar  explosive 
sound ;  in  sight  of  everyone,  the  medium's  hands  and  feet 
being  securely  held  by  the  two  controllers,  we  saw  the  center 
of  the  table  vibrating  under  a  heavy  blow  comparable  to 
that  which  might  be  produced  by  the  toe  of  a  heavy  boot, 
on  the  top  of  the  table.  This  phenomenon  was  repeated 
sevTral  times  during  the  seance;  in  order  to  make  it  more 
evidential  the  medium  asked  one  of  the  sitters  to  lay  hold 
of  one  of  her  feet  under  the  table  and  to  oliscrve  its  move- 
ments; she  then  raised  the  foot  slightly  and  the  blow  was 
produced  on  the  top  of  the  table.  The  other  foot  was  also 
controlled ;  moreover,  Eusapia  only  wears  woolen  slippers 
during  the  seance. 

There  was  another  instance  of  synchronous  raps:  the  me- 


92  Eusapia  Palladino 

dium  raised  her  hand  with  that  of  the  controller  on  the  left, 
and  made  the  action  of  striking  the  air ;  at  once,  with  abso- 
lute synchronism,  blows  resounded  on  the  tables  inside  the 
medium's  cabinet.  The  medium  moved  her  fingers  on  the 
hand  of  her  controller  as  if  playing  the  tambourine,  and 
the  experimenters  heard  corresponding  sounds  on  the  tam- 
bourine in  the  cabinet. 

Some  one  having  expressed  a  desire  to  hear  the  sound  of 
the  toy  piano,  an  inexplicable  preparatory  work  was  heard 
going  on  in  the  cabinet ;  furniture  was  heard  being  moved 
about,  the  clink  of  glasses  and  other  objects,  and  finally  it 
was  observed  that  the  table  bearing  the  little  piano  was 
moving  toward  the  medium,  as  if  issuing  from  the  cabinet; 
the  object  of  this  movement  was  probably  to  draw  the  piano, 
which  was  quite  at  the  back  of  the  cabinet,  within  the  radius 
of  the  mediumistic  activity. 

At  a  certain  moment  the  curtain  shook  forcibly,  one  of 
its  extremities  being  pushed  as  far  as  the  center  of  the  table 
and  a  white  box,  locked  and  sealed,  containing  a  sheet  of 
smoked  paper,  came  out.  This  object  paused  for  some  seconds 
on  the  arm  of  the  controller  on  the  right,  then,  as  if  it  had 
been  seized  by  a  real  but  invisible  hand,  it  was  lifted  toward 
the  center  of  the  table,  shaking  as  if  to  draw  attention  to  it, 
and  thrown  down  on  the  table,  eliciting  from  everyone  an 
exclamation  of  surprise  and  admiration.  "The  phenome- 
non," says  the  reporter,  "was  indeed  complete,  clearly  visible 
in  all  its  phases,  distinct,  incontestible,  and  convincing." 

Attention  was  called  to  the  control  of  the  medium  by 
five  raps,  and  the  little  piano  which  had  been  repeatedly 
heard  in  movement  was  at  last  played  upon  as  if  with  a  finger 
feeling  for  the  notes,  not  striking  them  at  hazard  but  with 
a  vague  musical  intention.  The  rhythm  was  not  very  pre- 
cise, but  neither  was  it  the  mere  noise  that  a  child  might 
make  on  a  piano ;  there  was  in  fact  a  clearly  expressed  musi- 
cal intention. 

A  little  later  a  toy  sheep,  made  to  bleat  v/hen  squeezed, 
which  was  in  the  cabinet,  first  appeared  on   the  medium's 


Eusapla  Palladino  93 

head,  where  it  rested  for  sometime,  and  was  then  thrown 
among  the  sitters,  by  some  invisible  hand. 

A  desire  being  expressed  to  hear  the  piano  again,  a  few 
notes  sounded.  One  of  the  experimenters  expressed  a  doubt 
whether  these  came  from  the  otoscope;  this  instrument  was 
then  in  its  turn  thrown  on  the  table,  and  it  was  evident 
that  the  sounds  came  from  the  piano. 

The  medium  begged  M.  Bocca  to  kneel  on  the  table,  and, 
having  done  so,  he  felt,  behind  the  curtain,  a  hand,  which 
grasped  his  own  at  a  height  to  which  the  medium  could  not 
reach;  a  phenomenon  which,  as  we  have  already  reported, 
occurred  at  Genoa  with  M.  Barzini. 

Then  lights  appeared ;  they  started  from  the  medium's 
head,  and  were  projected  like  a  minute  Roman  candle. 

Third  Seance.  On  this  occasion  some  important  addi- 
tions were  introduced  into  the  medium's  cabinet :  a  red  elec- 
tric lamp,  with  a  reflector,  was  hung  on  the  interior  wall 
at  the  back  of  the  cabinet  at  the  height  of  about  six  feet 
from  the  floor,  and  this  lighted  up  the  interior  ver>^  well: 
the  object  of  this  was  to  make  it  possible  to  follow  the  de- 
velopment of  the  phenomena  at  the  spot  where  they  are  the 
most  frequently  forthcoming. 

A  "tambourine  Marey,"  with  its  curious  structure  of 
cylinders  and  needles,  was  spread  out  on  a  table  placed  near 
the  cabinet;  an  india-rubber  tube  connected  it  with  a  Marey 
cardiograph  in  the  interior  of  the  cabinet ;  another  tube  led 
to  a  Morse  apparatus  placed  on  the  experimental  table.  The 
desire  was  to  register  simultaneously,  on  the  smoked  paper 
of  the  tambourine,  the  pressure  of  the  medium's  finger  on 
the  Morse  apparatus  outside,  and  that  exerted  by  the  "entity" 
on  the  button  of  the  cardiograph  inside  the  cabinet,  and  to 
verify  the  synchronism  of  the  two  phenomena.  A  round 
table  on  four  legs,  weighing  twenty-four  pounds,  occupied 
the  left  angle  of  the  cabinet  and  supported  a  lump  of  mold- 
ing clay  weighing  sixty  pounds  and  covered  by  a  damp  cloth. 

When  the  medium  had  fallen  into  a  trance,  the  move- 
ment of  the  heavv  table  bearing  the  clav  was  heard  inside 


94  Eusapia  Palladino 

the  cabinet.  The  curiosity  of  the  sitters  was  at  once  con- 
centrated on  this  spot.  Would  they  be  able  to  see  the  im- 
pression of  a  face  or  hand  forming?  The  reply  to  this  ques- 
tion came  immediately,  and  it  was  of  a  rather  unexpected 
and  disrespectful  character.  A  lump  of  wet  clay  was  thrown 
out  of  the  cabinet  and  lodged  on  the  thumb  of  the  individ- 
ual who  had  put  the  question.  The  medium  began  making 
little  movements  and  contractions,  and  simultaneously  the 
table  moved  noisily  a  few  inches  toward  the  curtain.  This 
lasted  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  after  which  the  clay  was 
found  behind  the  medium's  back  on  her  right,  at  a  distance 
of  about  thirty  inches.  The  table  rapped  five  times  to 
ask  for  less  light;  the  interior  lamp,  which  was  not  neces- 
sary for  verification,  was  then  put  out,  but  the  possibility  of 
seeing  the  phenomena  in  process  of  formation  was  thus  re- 
linquished. Great  raps  were  heard  on  the  table;  and  the 
table  on  which  the  clay  was  placed  rapped  out  with  its  feet: 
"The  impression  is  made." 

"I  was  asked,"  writes  Dr.  Mucchi,  "to  take  the  mold: 
I  was  about  to  enter  the  cabinet,  but  was  repelled  by  two 
hands  'made  of  nothing.'  I  felt  them ;  they  were  agile  and 
prompt,  they  seized  me  and  pushed  me  back — the  struggle 
lasted  for  sometime;  the  hands  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in 
resisting  me;  they  pushed  me  back  if  I  tried  to  enter  and 
pulled  me  forward  if  I  retired.  I  ended  by  seizing  the  lump 
of  clay  which  these  satanic  hands  persisted  in  claiming  for 
themselves;  when  I  withdrew  they  thrust  me  out  with  a 
violent  shove  which  nearly  upset  everything.  There  were  ob- 
servable on  the  clay  two  or  three  impressions  such  as  might  be 
made  by  a  closed  fist." 

One  of  the  sitters  was  asked  to  take  a  mandolin,  which 
was  in  the  room,  and  to  place  it  on  the  table  from  which  the 
clay  had  been  taken.     This  gentleman  also  found  himself 


Eusapla  Palladino  95 

resisted  by  the  mysterious  hands,  who  alternately  would,  and 
would  not,  let  him  enter;  when  he  had  once  got  hold  of  it 
he  was  afraid  lest  it  should  escape  him  and  placed  it  quickly 
on  the  table  inside,  with  the  strings  turned  downward.  The 
mandolin  was  soon  raised  from  there  in  some  inexplicable 
way  and  carried  on  to  the  experimental  table,  where,  in 
view  of  everyone,  it  played  all  by  itself,  first  one  string  at 
a  time,  giving  forth  a  clear  sound  as  if  it  were  being  played 
with  a  finger  nail;  then  with  all  the  strings,  as  if  a  finger 
were  being  passed  across  them.  One  of  us  was  asked  to  play 
on  the  medium's  fingers  as  if  they  were  a  mandolin ;  a  string 
sounded  in  correspondence  with  each  touch,  and  if  the  touch 
was  vague  the  sound  was  incomplete  or  strident.  Afterwards, 
a  hand,  which  suddenly  materialized,  seized  the  instrument 
by  the  handle  and  placed  it  on  the  shoulder  of  the  player, 
and  there,  under  his  very  nose,  the  strings  shook  and  twanged, 
while  the  hand  dissolved  and  disappeared. 

The  mandolin  returned  to  the  table,  and  the  medium  made 
it  advance  and  retire  as  if  she  had  a  thread  in  her  hands; 
the  strings  creaked  as  if  rubbed  by  this  invisible  contact. 

"All  this  time,"  says  the  reporter,  "the  control  was  very 
rigorous.  At  my  right,  one  of  the  circle,  who  was  standing 
up,  was  very  attentive  to  all  that  was  happening,  when  sud- 
denly his  hand  was  seized  by  the  index  finger  and  drawn  up- 
ward ;  he  did  not  resist,  but  had  no  cause  to  rejoice,  for  he 
felt  his  middle  finger  seized  by  the  teeth  of  a  mouth  from 
behind  the  curtain. 

"He  wished  to  know  who  the  invisible  entity  was,  and  the 
unknown  hand  drew  his  up  to  the  level  of  a  face  to  make 
him  touch  it.  I  asked  this  investigator  if  he  could  recognize 
whether  it  was  a  man  or  a  woman,  and  his  hand  was  drawn 
to  trace  the  lines  of  a  profile  which  was  moving  behind  the 
curtain.     The  same  hand  struck  him  several  times  on  the 


96  Eusapia  Palladino 

shoulder,  and  we  heard  the  sharp,  characteristic  sound  of  the 
blow.  .  .  . 

"The  medium  then  asked  that  a  venerable  old  man  whom 
she  had  known  for  years,  and  who  had  already  experimented 
with  her  for  sometime,  might  sit  beside  her.  He  leaned 
toward  the  curtain  and  we  heard  the  sound  of  kisses.  The 
light  at  this  moment  came  from  a  red  electric  lamp  placed 
outside,  a  little  behind  and  to  the  left  of  the  medium's  cabi- 
net ;  thus  the  wall  on  the  left  of  the  room  was  well  lit  up 
and  afforded  a  light  background  against  which  the  profiles 
of  the  medium  and  the  old  man  were  clearly  visible. 

"The  medium  rested  her  head  against  the  shoulder  of 
the  controller  on  the  right;  her  hands  were  held  in  his;  sud- 
denly the  curtain  shook  violently,  a  cold  wind  passed  out, 
then  a  human  form  covered  by  the  thin  material  of  the  cur- 
tain was  visible  against  this  light  background.  The  head 
of  a  woman,  unstable  and  staggering,  approached  the  face 
of  the  old  man ;  she  moved  tremblingly  like  an  old  woman ; 
she  seemed  to  lean  forward  and  touch  the  old  gentleman, 
perhaps  she  kissed  him ;  the  old  man  encouraged  her ;  she 
withdrew,  returned,  seemed  as  if  she  were  afraid  to  venture, 
then  advanced  resolutely.  It  was  a  moment  of  uncontrollable 
emotion.  Skeptic  though  I  am,  adverse  to  all  mysticism,  I 
was  conscious  of  the  intense  feeling  of  this  silent  scene.  .  .  ." 

Fourth  and  last  Seance.  The  room  and  the  cabinet  were 
emptied  as  much  as  possible  of  all  little  objects — the  mando- 
lin, the  trumpet,  etc.,  which  might  distract  the  attention  of 
the  mysterious  beings.  It  was  earnestly  desired  to  concen- 
trate the  force  upon  the  narrow  circle  of  the  scientific  ap- 
paratus which  had  been  prepared. 

First  a  photograph  was  taken  by  magnesium  light  of  the 
complete  levitation  of  the  table.  The  photograph  was  a 
complete  success,  the  table  being  very  high  up.  The  con- 
trol conditions  were  perfect,  but  the  controllers  observed 
that  a  contraction  of  the  muscles  of  the  thighs  and  rigidity 


Eusapla  Palladino  97 

of  the  whole  muscular  system  corresponded  with  each  levi- 
tation. 

"A  hand  issued  from  the  curtain  near  my  head,"  writes 
M.  Mucchi;  "it  first  showed  with  closed  fist,  then  the  hand 
opened  and  the  fingers  stretched  out.  This  phenomenon  was 
repeated  several  times;  everj-one  could  take  note  of  it,  be- 
cause the  hand  stood  out  against  the  illuminated  wall.  The 
same  hand  subsequently  laid  hold  of  the  wood  of  the  cabinet 
and  shook  it  violently ;  I  tried  in  my  turn  and  I  found  that 
to  do  this  required  considerable  effort.  While  I  was  doing 
so  the  invisible  hand  seized  mine,  pressed  it  and  let  go,  giving 
me  a  friendly  pat  on  the  shoulder. 

"I  left  my  place  as  controller,  being  replaced  by  Engineer 
Pomba.  While  a  few  ordinary  phenomena  w^ere  occurring 
I  observed  the  dynamometer,  and  I  placed  the  needle  at  zero. 
My  maneuver  was,  however,  perceived  by  the  medium's  sub- 
liminal consciousness,  and  she  asked  that  that  object  might 
be  laid  on  the  table. 

"  'What  object?'  asked  the  controller  on  the  right. 

"I  was  even  uncertain  whether  she  meant  me,  because  I 
was  at  a  spot  where  she  absolutely  could  not  see  me.  But 
the  medium  insisted,  and  finally  indicated  me  by  a  move- 
ment of  her  head.  I  hastened  to  satisfy  her.  It  really 
seems  that  the  medium  has  tlie  faculty  of  using  her  senses 
at  a  distance. 

"Then  the  medium  desired  me  to  keep  the  instrument  in 
my  hands,  high  enough  for  everyone  to  see  it.  I  did  so.  The 
curtain  swelled  out  and  advanced  to  my  hand;  the  invisible 
behind  the  curtain  seized  my  fingers,  which  held  the  dyna- 
mometer, and  I  felt  a  rapid  and  not  very  strong  pressure. 
Holding  it  to  the  light  I  perceived  that  the  pressure  was  only 
that  of  2  kilog.  (4  lbs.)  ;  we  were  far  from  the  110  kilog. 
registered  in  the  Genoa  seances!  I  showed  my  surprise  and 
disappointment,  and  the  medium,  whose  amour  propre  was 
stung,  wished  to  try  again.  The  phenomenon  was  repeated 
in  the  same  manner.  The  hand  seized  mine,  holding  the 
four  fingers  on  the  side  of  the  oval  piece  of  steel  on  which 


98  Eusapia  Palladino 

my  thumb  was  resting,  and  the  thumb  on  the  side  on  which 
my  four  fingers  were  pressing.  The  pressure  of  the  mys- 
terious hand  was  thus  exerted  partly  on  my  fingers  and  partly 
on  the  instrument.  The  constraint  was  felt  longer  and 
stronger,  but  not  with  much  more  effect  than  the  first  time. 

"On  the  other  hand,  a  sudden  and  curious  variation  oc- 
curred :  I  was  following  attentively  a  little  operation  of  the 
invisible^  who  was  trying  to  displace  the  needle  of  the  dy- 
namometer in  order  to  raise  the  coefficient  of  the  pressure. 
The  first  finger  of  the  mysterious  hand  liberated  itself,  felt 
for  the  needle,  and  instead  of  pushing  the  indicator,  touched 
the  needle  connected  with  the  levers  and  fixed  to  the  steel 
spring  in  such  a  manner  that  when  it  was  let  go  it  caused 
the  clear  sound  of  metallic  vibrations;  then  it  glided  to  the 
other  needle,  displacing  it  perhaps  a  few  degrees,  so  that  the 
dynamometer  registered  20  kilog.  (44  lbs.).  Evidently  'John 
King'  was  attempting  a  trick. 

"I  now  understand  how  it  came  about  that  the  pressure 
was  raised  in  the  Genoa  experiment,  to  no  kilog.  (242  lbs.), 
a  result  so  much  in  excess  of  that  which  would  be  obtained 
with  a  strong  man,  and  I  also  understand  the  variability 
of  the  pressure  already  observed  in  many  other  instances.  It 
is  not  only  'John's'  force,  but  also  his  trickery  which  moves 
the  needles  of  the  dynamometer  to  such  an  incredible  extent. 

"Dr.  Norlenghi  requested  that  a  tiny  round  table  which 
he  had  brought  with  him  might  be  placed  on  the  table.  I 
took  it  by  one  of  its  feet,  and  I  was  in  the  act  of  holding  it 
out  toward  the  curtains;  I  had  not  reached  to  the  middle  of 
the  circle  of  investigators  when  it  was  torn  out  of  my  hands 
and  raised,  turned  over  and  upside  down,  and  shaken  about 
for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  minute.  Dr.  Norlenghi  insisted  on 
verifying  the  control,  and  as  he  was  advancing  his  head  to- 
ward the  medium's  hands  to  satisfy  himself  de  visa  that  they 
were  securely  held,  he  inquired  whether  the  control  was 
complete.  This  seemed  to  annoy  the  unknown  entity,  whose 
hands  rapidly  lowered  the  little  table  on  to  the  surface  of 
the  large  table  with  a  bang.  The  little  piece  of  furniture 
then  rose  up  again,  was  violently  seized,  knocked  about,  and 


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t     c  ^  o 
X     c —  -^ 


j;  53  c 
—  ■-  a 


in- 


1-^ 


Eusapia  Palladino  99 

smashed  In  pieces.  Two  feet  were  thrown  down  among 
the  investigators,  the  third  hit  Dr.  Norlenghi  in  the  face, 
without  hurting  him,  however. 

"Then  the  unknown  entity  seized  one  of  the  feet  of  the 
little  table  and  rapped  with  it  repeatedly  now  on  one,  then 
on  another  of  the  hands  of  the  sitters,  while  the  big  table 
shook,   and  laughed  in  its  own  fashion. 

"Meanwhile  the  curtain  blew  out;  the  table  rapped  three 
times  to  signify  'Attention !'  and  Engineer  Pomba  was 
honored  by  a  visit  from  the  unknoivn  as  in  the  preceding 
seance,  the  head  surrounded  by  the  curtain  approached  him 
and  kissed  him  while  two  hands,  which  we  could  not  see, 
held  his  head  with  an  affectionate  gesture.  This  was  repeated 
more  than  once.  We  all  got  on  to  the  right  side  of  the  table 
to  be  able  to  see  the  materialization,  which  was  clearly  out- 
lined against  the  light  background  of  the  wall,  so  as  to  ob- 
serve all  its  movements. 

"I  observed  that  the  dimensions  of  this  human  form  va- 
ried, that  its  volume  increased  and  diminished  visibly,  so 
that  sometimes  it  appeared  to  be  that  of  an  adult,  sometimes 
that  of  a  child.  It  was  evidently  subject  to  the  variations 
of  the  emission  of  the  mediumistic  force.  When  the  effort 
was  more  intense,  the  materialization  was  more  complete ; 
the  medium  seemed  more  fatigued  when  the  head  was  more 
largely  developed. 

"It  is  difficult  to  state  precisely  the  nature  of  this  head; 
it  seemed  to  me — and  long  practice  in  the  use  of  my  eyes 
justifies  my  believing  that  I  was  not  deceived — like  those  of 
the  last  seance.  The  most  striking  characteristics  were  the 
same;  the  jests,  the  way  of  coming  out  and  approaching  M. 
Pomba  were  the  same,  the  only  difference,  in  my  opinion, 
consisted  in  this,  that  in  the  course  of  the  last  seance  the  head 
represented  the  aged  mother  of  one  of  the  sitters,  and  this 
evening  it  represented  the  father  of  another. 

"Dr.  Audenino  thought  sadly  of  his  Marey  apparatus, 
which  for  three  evenings  had  not  been  used,  and  looked  to 
see  if  the  smoked  paper  had  not  been  touched,  when  sud- 
denly a  slight  sound  indicated  that  the  needle  of  the  appa- 


100  Eusapia  Palladino 

ratus  was  moving.  Dr.  Audenino  at  once  put  the  tam- 
bourine in  action,  and  our  ears  perceived  for  a  few  seconds 
the  scratching  of  a  pen,  which  made  long  jumps  on  the 
smoked  surface  of  the  tambourine  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
correspond  to  the  pressure  exerted  inside  on  the  cardiograph, 
tracing  a  curious  and  variable  diagram.  The  cabinet  was 
quite  empty  and  the  medium's  hands  were,  as  always,  in  the 
hands  of  the  controllers.  Moreover,  the  distance  between  the 
cardiograph  and  the  medium's  chair  was  such  that,  even 
had  she  wished  to,  she  could  not  have  succeeded  in  pressing 
it  with  her  hands. 

"This  phenomenon  finally  eliminates  all  suspicion.  We 
have  no  longer  merely  the  testimony  of  our  senses,  but  that 
of  a  metal  instrument  which  has  registered,  as  we  have,  an 
unknown  force ;  a  well-known  scientific  apparatus  has  been 
moved  by  an  invisible  force,  and  has  had  imprinted  upon  it 
the  tangible  and  mathematical  proof  of  the  reality  of  these 
phenomena. 

"The  medium  got  up,  the  table  going  with  her  and  with 
the  investigators  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  where  it  rose 
to  a  considerable  height  and  fell  on  the  ground  upside  down. 
The  medium,  standing  up,  moved  it  first  on  one  side,  then 
on  the  other,  but  she  seemed  already  very  tired,  and  was  al- 
most supported  by  the  two  controllers.  She  then  turned  to 
an  armchair  and  let  herself  sink  into  it  exhausted.  The 
table  was  raised  by  the  sitters,  but  the  medium  wished  it  to 
go  down  again,  and  with  a  gesture  of  her  head  she  sent  it 
rolling  again  on  the  ground.  Then  she  threw  herself  back 
in  the  armchair,  hid  her  head  in  her  arms,  and  seemed  to 
fall  asleep.     Our  series  of  sittings  was  thus  concluded." 


§  1 8.  Experiments  at  Turin — 1907  (Foa,  etc.) 

Soon  after  the  experiments  performed  by  Professor  Mor- 
selli  and  Professor  Lombroso,  another  series  of  seances  was 
held  in  Turin  by  Drs.  Herlitzka,  Charles  Foa,  and  Aggaz- 
zotti — assistants  of  Professor  Mosso.    At  the  second  and  more 


Eusapia  Palladino  loi 

remarkable  seance  Professor  PIo  Foa,  of  the  same  Univer- 
sity, Professor  of  Pathological  Anatomy,  Director  of  the 
Anatomical  Museum,  and  General  Secretary  of  the  Academy 
of  Sciences,  was  also  present. 

Speaking  of  the  seances,  these  gentlemen  state: 

"We  all,  who  had  never  before  been  present  at  medium- 
istic  phenomena,  found  that  even  the  most  incredible  phe- 
nomena produce  no  emotion,  and  the  most  extraordinary 
things  soon  appear  as  quite  common  and  natural  manifesta- 
tions. In  the  days  that  followed  the  first  seance,  however, 
all  seemed  to  us  an  impossibility,  and  but  for  our  reciprocal 
testimony,  and  without  the  objective,  irrefutable  documents 
which  remained,  we  should  almost  have  doubted  our  senses 
and  our  intelligence." 

The  seances  took  place  in  the  house  of  Count  Verdun.  The 
doors  and  windows  of  the  seance  room  were  securely  fastened, 
and  the  room  examined.  The  two  controllers  were,  at  first, 
Dr.  C.  Foa  and  Dr.  Herlitzka.  Throughout  the  seance, 
we  are  told,  incessant  and  reciprocal  control  was  exercised 
by  all  those  present. 

Eusapia  commenced  the  seance  by  having  a  fit  of  hysterics. 
Upon  recovering,  she  no  longer  spoke  in  the  first  person, 
but  in  the  third,  speaking  as  If  she  were  John  King.  Dr.  C. 
Foa  Immediately  afterwards  saw  a  dark,  Ill-defined  profile, 
which  disappeared  almost  instantaneously,  but  reappeared 
again  at  his  request.  Attempts  by  Dr.  Foa  to  seize  this  head 
failed.  The  table  in  the  cabinet  was  heard  to  move  about, 
and  Immediately  after\vards  came  right  out  into  the  seance 
room,  no  one  touching  it.  Many  objects  then  began  to 
arrive  one  by  one,  and  were  deposited  on  the  seance  table. 
A  mandolin,  a  sheet  of  paper,  a  little  woolen  sheep,  were 
thus  carried.     Then  the  curtain  came  out,  and  a  hand,  ob- 


102  Eusapia  Palladino 

viously  not  the  medium's,  pulled  the  hair  of  Dr.  Foa.  At 
the  same  moment  the  strings  of  the  mandolin  were  picked. 
The  toy  piano  issued  from  under  the  table,  the  keys  were 
depressed  in  turn,  and  various  notes  sounded.  Soon  after 
this,  the  lights  were  turned  up  and  an  examination  made, 
but  no  cause  for  these  manifestations  was  discovered.  In  full 
light,  strong  movements  of  the  table  were  heard — synchroniz- 
ing with  movements  of  the  medium's  hand.  The  investiga- 
tors endeavored  to  obtain  graphic  records — the  keys  and 
other  parts  of  the  instruments  capable  of  being  manipulated 
being  covered  with  a  cardboard  box,  and  fastened  down  with 
sealed  ribbons.  These  attempts,  however,  resulted  in  com- 
plete failure — since,  although  the  keys  of  the  instruments 
were  manipulated,  it  was  found  that  the  cardboard  box, 
containing  the  key,  had  been  unfastened,  that  a  glass  tube  had 
been  broken,  and  that  one  of  the  ribbons  which  fastened  the 
box  was  missing. 

Numerous  other  phenomena  of  interest  occurred,  how- 
ever, during  this  seance,  notably  touches  by  invisible  hands. 
Eusapia  was  asked  if  the  key  of  the  apparatus  might  be 
pressed  down.  She  replied:  "The  key  is  uncovered,  and  as 
I  do  this  I  can  also  press  the  key  down."  When  she  said 
the  word  this.  Dr.  Herlitzka  felt  a  finger  press  strongly  on 
his  shoulder.  Eusapia's  hands  were  at  this  moment  firmly 
held  by  her  two  neighbors.  The  seance  ended  with  several 
levitations.  The  small  table  upon  which  the  toys  had  been 
placed  was  pushed  completely  outside  the  cabinet. 

The  second  seance,  which  took  place  in  the  same  room, 
and  virtually  under  the  same  conditions  as  the  first,  was 
far  more  remarkable.  Two  complete  levitations  in  full  light 
opened   the   proceedings,   which  were   immediately   followed 


Eusapia  Palladino  103 

by  the  small  table  in  the  cabinet  advancing  into  the  room, 
pushing  the  curtain  in  front  of  it.  Eusapia  moved  her  hands 
in  the  air  over  the  small  table,  which  moved  about  upon 
the  floor,  corresponding  in  its  movements  to  those  made  by 
her  hands.  It  ended  by  rising  completely  into  the  air.  Dr. 
Aggazzotti  repeatedly  pushed  the  table  back  but  every  time 
it  returned  to  its  place.  The  curtain  then  swelled  out,  in 
response  to  movements  of  the  medium's  hands,  and  remained 
out  during  the  rest  of  the  sitting.  This  enabled  Dr.  Herlitz- 
ka  to  see  into  the  cabinet  during  the  rest  of  the  seance,  and 
observe  carefully  everything  that  went  on  in  it. 

In  this  seance,  also,  the  fabrics  and  other  materials  that 
had  been  used  to  cover  the  apparatus  in  the  cabinet  were  torn 
away  by  invisible  fingers  and,  both  Eusapia's  hands  being 
visible,  the  experimenters  could  hear  the  cloth  being  torn, 
inside  the  cabinet.  The  experiments  in  registration,  there- 
fore, were  not  conducted  under  test  conditions,  but  numer- 
ous other  phenomena  occurred  at  this  sitting  which  were 
even  more  interesting  than  these.    Thus  we  read : 

"In  consequence  of  a  desire  expressed  by  the  medium.  Dr. 
Herlitzka  took  control  instead  of  Dr.  Arullani,  who  took 
his  seat  on  the  left,  near  the  cabinet,  where  he  immediately 
felt  a  blow  as  with  a  fist,  while  his  feet  were  trodden  upon, 
and  a  finger  nail  was  stuck  into  his  hand. 

Some  of  the  sitters  observed  a  sort  of  white  mist  round 
the  medium's  head.  A  few  seconds  later,  inside  the  cabinet, 
was  heard  the  sound,  several  times  repeated,  which  told  us 
that  the  membrane  of  our  apparatus  was  being  rapped  upon. 
At  each  of  these  raps  there  was  corresponding  pressure  of 
the  right  hand  of  the  medium  on  that  of  the  "controller" 
on  that  side.  The  apparatus  was  on  the  right  of  the  mediimi 
at  a  distance  of  a  foot  or  two  from  the  controller  and  per- 
fectly visible.  No  one  was  at  that  time  in  the  cabinet,  as 
it  was  easy  to  certify. 


104  Eusapia  Palladino 

A  little  drum  which  was  on  table  No.  i  floated  in  the 
air  above  the  medium's  head,  and  subsequently  returned  to 
its  place.  Immediately  afterwards  a  mandolin  made  some 
sounds  on  table  No.  i,  rose  up  above  it  and  fell  on  the 
ground.  Also  from  the  toy  piano,  which  was  on  the  floor, 
some  notes  were  heard  to  sound  and  the  medium  stated 
that  the  effort  to  produce  these  latter  sounds  was  made 
through  her  feet.  And,  in  fact,  the  controllers,  who  had 
Eusapia's  feet  on  theirs,  observed  that  each  sound  corre- 
sponded with  a  contraction  of  the  muscles  of  her  leg.  The 
medium  rested  a  leg  horizontally  on  the  knee  of  Dr.  Ag- 
gazzotti,  who  held  the  foot  of  the  medium  in  his  hand  and 
asked  her  to  repeat  the  experiment  without  moving  her  foot; 
a  slighter  but  synchronous  movement  of  the  foot  corre- 
sponded with  each  sound. 

Soon  after  this,  the  piano,  of  its  own  accord,  came  on  to 
the  seance  table,  passing  over  the  head  of  Professor  Foa 
in  so  doing.  Dr.  Aggazzotti's  eyeglasses  were  taken  and 
flung  violently  on  to  the  floor.  He  stated  his  anxiety  lest 
the  lenses  should  be  broken.  This  the  medium  emphatically 
denied.  The  eyeglasses  were  later  discovered  on  the  floor 
uninjured." 

John  King  seemed  to  possess  a  certain  antipathy  to  Dr. 
Arullani.    Thus  we  read  : 

"Dr.  Arullani  wished  to  approach  the  curtain  on  the  me- 
dium's left;  but  the  table,  advancing  toward  him,  pushed 
him  back,  as  if  with  anger.  The  medium  then  asked  the 
doctor  to  put  his  fingers  over  her  eyes;  he  did  so,  but  two 
hands  were  placed  on  his  chest  and  violently  repulsed  him, 
the  hands  of  the  medium  being  at  the  same  time  held  below 
by  the  two  controllers.  Arullani  tried  to  approach  again, 
but  the  medium  cried  out,  "Do  not  approach,"  and  the  doc- 
tor felt  himself  hit  on  the  head. 

We  relate  all  these  details  because  they  show  that  the 
medium  is  perfectly  conscious  of  the  phenomena  which  are 
forthcoming,  although  when  the  somnambulistic  state  is  over 
she  does  not  remember  what  has  happened. 


Eusapia  Palladino  105 

A  luminous  interlude  ensued :  above  Eusapia's  head,  at 
a  height  of  about  eighteen  inches,  all  the  sitters  saw  a  bright 
light  appear,  similar  to  that  of  a  small  electric  pocket  lamp. 
One  of  us  (Dr.  Foa)  went  out  of  the  circle  and  held  a  pho- 
tographic plate  above  the  medium's  head  to  find  out  whether 
it  was  possible  to  register  the  radiations.  A  few  moments 
later,  the  bright  light,  well  localized,  reappeared ;  imme- 
diately afterwards  the  toy  piano,  which  was  on  the  table  all 
the  time  with  the  keA'board  turned  away  from  the  medium, 
made  a  few  sounds;  the  sitters  observed  the  spontaneous 
depression  of  the  keys  which  accompanied  the  sounds. 

Still  with  the  object  of  obtaining  a  record  of  possible 
radiations,  one  of  us  (Dr.  Foa)  held  the  photographic  plate, 
wrapped  in  paper,  over  Eusapia's  head,  and  he  felt  the  plate 
seized  by  a  hand  covered  with  the  curtain ;  he  passed  one 
hand  behind  the  curtain,  but  found  nothing  there. 

The  hand  (for  reasons  that  will  appear  later  we  apply 
this  term  to  the  force  that  acted  on  the  plate,  although  no 
form  of  a  hand  was  visible)  made  an  effort  to  seize  the  plate, 
by  snatcliing  it  unexpectedly,  and  renewed  this  attempt  re- 
peatedly but  without  success.  Dr.  Foa  seized  the  hand, 
which  was  covered  with  the  curtain,  and  had  the  impression 
of  pressing  real  fingers,  the  fingers  escaped  him,  however, 
and  gave  him  a  blow ;  the  plate  was  changed,  and  the  in- 
visible hand  began  another  struggle,  during  which  it  had 
tight  hold  of  the  plate  for  several  seconds.  At  last  a  sud- 
den blow  given  to  the  plate  caused  it  to  fall  on  the  seance 
table  without  breaking.  Dr.  Aggazzotti,  who  held  another 
plate  over  the  medium's  head,  had,  in  his  turn,  to  struggle 
in  order  to  prevent  its  escaping  him — a  struggle  in  the  course 
of  which  his  hand  was  even  bitten. 

At  this  juncture  the  medium  told  Professor  Pio  Foa  not 
to  be  alarmed  whatever  might  happen,  and  advised  all  pres- 
ent not  to  touch  the  objects  which  would  be  suspended  in 
the  air,  otherwise  she  would  be  unable  to  restrain  the  move- 
ments and  might  hurt  somebody. 

Table  No.  i  rose  in  the  air  many  inches  high  and  passed 
once   over    the  head    of   Professor   Foa;    returning   to    the 


io6  Eusapia  Palladino 

ground,  and  keeping,  all  the  time,  outside  the  cabinet,  it 
turned  over  and  then  stood  up  again. 

Needless  to  say  that  the  controllers  were  always  vigilant 
and  saw  that  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  medium  were  held  in 
our  hands  and  under  our  feet.  Often  during  the  occurrence 
of  the  most  important  phenomena,  Eusapia's  legs  were  placed 
horizontally  on  our  knees. 

After  table  No.  i  had  stood  upright.  Dr.  Arullani  ap- 
proached it,  but  the  piece  of  furniture,  moving  violently 
toward  him,  repulsed  him ;  Dr.  Arullani  seized  the  table, 
which  was  heard  to  crack  in  the  struggle:  it  was  a  strong 
table  of  white  wood  about  2  feet  9  inches  high  and  3  feet 
long  by  22  inches  broad,  weighing  17  pounds. 

Dr.  Arullani  asked  that  the  hand  behind  the  curtain 
should  grasp  his;  the  medium  replied  in  her  own  voice: 
"First  I  am  going  to  break  the  table,  then  I  will  give  you  a 
grasp  of  the  hand."  This  declaration  was  followed  by  three 
fresh  complete  levitations  of  the  table,  which  fell  back  each 
time  heavily  on  to  the  floor.  All  those  who  were  on  the  left 
of  the  medium  could  observe,  by  a  very  good  red  light,  the 
various  movements  of  the  table.  The  latter  bent  down  and 
passed  behind  the  curtain  followed  by  one  of  us  (Dr.  C. 
Foa),  who  saw  it  turn  over  and  rest  on  one  of  its  two  short 
sides,  while  one  of  the  legs  of  the  table  came  off  violently, 
as  if  under  the  action  of  some  force  pressing  upon  it.  At 
this  moment  the  table  came  violently  out  of  the  cabinet  and 
continued  to  break  up  under  the  eyes  of  everyone  present; 
at  first  its  different  parts  were  torn  off,  then  the  boards  them- 
selves went  to  pieces.  Two  legs  which  still  remained  united 
by  a  thin  slip  of  wood  floated  above  us  and  placed  them- 
selves on  the  seance  table. 

The  medium  said:  "Unhappy  owners  of  the  house!"  As 
the  medium  had  thus  kept  her  promise  to  break  the  table, 
Dr.  Arullani  asked  for  the  hand  shake,  and  was  invited  by 
the  medium  to  approach  the  curtain.  He  had  hardly  reached 
it  when  he  found  himself  hit  by  pieces  of  wood  and  hands, 
and  we  all  heard  the  noise  of  the  blows. 

One  of  us,  who  was  in  control,  felt  himself  tickled  under 


1 


Eusapia  Palladino  107 

the  arm,  but  could  not  see  any  hand,  although  the  subjec- 
tive impression  was  that  of  four  fingers  which  moved  rapidly 
unjier  the  armpit. 

During  the  whole  seance  the  condition  of  the  medium  and 
her  power  were  being  discussed.  Dr.  AruUani  maintained 
that  this  force  was  only  manifested  at  a  few  inches'  distance. 
The  medium  then  told  him  to  stand  on  the  seance  table.  Dr. 
ArullanI  confined  himself  to  kneeling  on  it,  and  was  struck 
on  the  head  by  a  piece  of  wood  ;  then  two  feet  of  the  table 
were  raised  three  times;  the  third  time  more  violently,  and 
the  doctor  was  sent  rolling  over  on  to  the  ground. 

The  seance  approached  its  close;  the  medium  seemed  very 
tired;  she  leaned  her  head  on  the  shoulder  of  one  of  the 
controllers.  A  very  interesting  experience  was  yet  in  store 
for  us.  The  medium,  as  well  as  all  the  sitters,  who  formed 
a  chain,  rose  up.  The  table  moved  toward  the  center  of  the 
room  and  afterwards  rose  completely  in  the  air.  After  a 
brief  pause,  during  which  one  of  us  mentioned  the  fact  that 
a  photographic  plate  was  fixed  under  the  seance  table,  and 
while  everyone  was  standing  up  at  some  distance  from  the 
table,  which  was  free  and  quite  visible  on  all  sides,  the  me- 
dium asked  for  Dr.  Aggazzotti's  hand,  and  immediately 
afterwards  the  photographic  plate  was  seen  to  fall  with  vio- 
lence on  to  the  seance  table.  Dr.  C.  Foa  and  Dr.  Aggaz- 
zotti  saw  it  distinctly  come  out  from  under  the  table,  move 
round  the  edge  and  pass  on  to  the  upper  surface. 

It  was  I  A.M.,  and  the  medium  was  asked  whether  the 
seance  should  be  closed,  but  she  did  not  reply ;  she  was  seen 
to  be  very  fatigued,  and  we  broke  off  the  seance  without  fur- 
ther demur;  the  medium  was  placed  in  an  armchair 
and  carried  into  a  small  adjoining  sitting  room." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  seance,  the  "field  of  battle"  was 
visited,  and  the  various  objects  were  found  out  of  place,  the 
table  broken,  etc. — showing  that  real  forces  had  been  at 
work,  and  that  the  investigators  had  not  been  the  subjects 
of  any  hallucination.     One   incident  of  extreme  interest  is 


io8  Eusapia  Palladino 

to  be  noted  in  this  connection :  When  the  photographic 
plates  were  examined,  two  gave  uncertain  results,  but 
the  third,  which  had  been  seized  for  some  seconds  by  the 
invisible  hand,  showed  distinctly  the  dark,  negative  image 
of  four  big  fingers,  the  position  and  form  of  which  corre- 
sponded with  the  index,  the  middle  finger,  the  third,  and 
the  little  finger.  The  impression  of  the  thumb  seems  to  be 
indicated  also  but  not  so  clearly. 

Summing  up  the  results  of  their  experiments,  the  in- 
vestigators concluded  that,  whatever  might  be  thought  of 
the  seances  as  a  whole,  or  of  the  various  minor  phenomena, 
at  least  four  of  these  were  to  be  retained  as  proof  positive 
that  fraud  could  not  account  for  the  results  obtained.  These 
four  were:  (i)  The  marks  on  the  apparatus  (the  revolving 
cylinder)  ;  (2)  the  table  broken  to  pieces  before  their  eyes; 
(3)  the  photographic  plate  nailed  under  the  table,  passed 
on  to  it  by  invisible  hands;  (4)  the  impression  of  the  hand 
on  the  photographic  plate  enveloped  in  black  paper.  As  to 
this  latter  phenomenon,  the  committee  could  only  suggest 
that  some  sort  of  radio-activity  issued  from  the  medium's 
fingers  when  in  trance — penetrating  the  opaque  paper,  and 
impressing  the  sensitive  plate. 

The  investigators  favored  the  hypothesis  that  the  phe- 
nomena were  produced  by  some  force  issuing  from  the  body 
of  the  medium,  and  pointed  out  that,  in  our  present  state  of 
knowledge,  the  denial  of  such  force  is  absurd.  The  phe- 
nomena of  heredity,  they  say,  are  equally  unknown  to  us, 
and  that  "it  is  very  probable  that  when  the  determinism  of 
mediumistic  phenomena  have  been  completely  established, 
that  of  the  phenomena  of  heredity  will  still  remain  enveloped 
in  the  veil  of  mystery." 


Eusapia  Palladino  109 

§  19.  Experiments  at  Naples — 1907 

In  the  September  and  October,  1907,  issues  of  The  Annals 
of  Psychical  Science,  Professor  Bottazzi  records  a  number  of 
seances  which  he,  together  with  Professor  Galeotti,  Dr. 
DeAmicis,  Dr.  Oscar  Scarpa,  Dr.  Luigi  Lombardi,  and  Dr. 
Sergio  Pansini  conducted  in  their  own  laboratories  in  the 
University  of  Naples.  The  cabinet  consisted  of  two  cur- 
tains hung  across  a  doorway.  This  door  led  into  another 
laboratory  in  the  University,  and  both  rooms  were  invariably 
locked  securely  before  the  commencement  of  any  seance.  A 
series  of  electric  lamps  of  various  intensities,  red  and  white, 
were  aflfixed  to  the  movable  supports,  and  above  the  door — 
allowing  various  degrees  of  illumination  of  the  seance  room. 
They  were  controlled  by  a  switch  within  reach  of  the  sitters. 

The  object  of  the  experimenters  was  to  obtain  graphic 
records  of  the  phenomena — that  is  to  say,  records  obtained 
by  means  of  mechanical  instruments.  The  reality'  of  the 
phenomena,  therefore,  did  not  depend  upon  the  observation 
of  the  sitters.  The  medium  was  prevented  from  tampering 
with  these  instruments  during  the  seance  in  the  following 
manner.  The  seance  cabinet  was  constructed  in  front  of  a 
door  leading  into  another  laboratory.  In  this  other  labora- 
tory, and  behind  the  closed  door,  were  placed  the  recording 
instruments  on  various  tables,  and  they  were  connected  with 
the  keys,  etc.,  inside  the  cabinet,  by  means  of  electric  wires. 
Thus,  if  a  key  had  to  be  pressed  in  order  to  affect  one  of  the 
instruments  on  the  other  side  of  the  partition  door,  this 
could  only  be  done  by  pressing  the  proper  key,  and  the  in- 
strument itself  could  not  be  tampered  with.  The  medium, 
we  are  assured,  never  placed  her  liand  inside  the  cabinet,  and 
she  was,  throughout  th.e  whole  course  of  the  sittings,  care- 


no  Eusapla  Palladino 

fully  watched  and  controlled  by  two  members  of  the  investi- 
gating committee,  one  on  either  side  of  her. 

At  the  first  seance,  comparatively  few  startling  results 
were  obtained.  The  heavy  table  in  the  cabinet  was  violently 
and  repeatedly  shaken  and  all  the  objects  on  it  were  thrown 
on  to  the  floor.  The  metronome  was  set  in  motion,  but  it 
is  probable  that  this  and  other  phenomena  resulted  from 
oscillations  of  the  table. 

During  the  second  seance,  the  small  table  in  the  cabinet 
came  out  of  its  own  accord,  in  a  jerky  manner,  these  jerks 
corresponding  with  convulsive  movements  of  Eusapia's  hands 
or  legs.  Soon  after  this,  touches  by  invisible  hands  were 
felt.  Nearly  all  the  sitters  were  touched  in  turn,  Eusapia's 
hands  being  well  controlled  at  the  time.  Twice  an  appari- 
tion of  something  black  was  perceived,  resembling  a  head 
with  a  fairly  distinct  profile,  that  came  out  slowly,  remained 
two  or  three  seconds,  then  retired  rapidly.  Eusapia  was 
asked  to  obtain  movements  of  the  electric  keys  and  other 
instruments  placed  in  the  cabinet.  She  protested  for  a  long 
time,  saying  that  she  did  not  know  their  meaning,  that  she 
could  not  find  them,  that  she  did  not  know  how  to  do  it, 
that  they  were  too  far  off,  etc.  But  in  the  ensuing  seances, 
in  spite  of  these  protests,  the  various  recording  instruments 
were  moved — buttons  were  pressed,  the  rod  of  the  metro- 
nome was  set  swinging,  etc.  Dr.  BottazzI  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  reason  these  phenomena  had  not  been  ob- 
tained in  the  first  two  seances  was  that  the  hands  operative 
must  become  "familiar"  with  the  instruments — ^just  as  human 
hands  would  have  to  become  familiar  with  them. 

At  the  third  seance,  several  complete  levitations  were  ob- 
tained— most  of  them  lasting  but  a  few  seconds.     One  of 


Eusapia  Palladino  iii 

them,  however,  was  extremely  lengthy,  and  Professor  Gal- 
eotti  was  enabled  to  count  fifty  with  perfect  regularity  while 
the  table  remained  in  the  air!  A  large  number  of  visible 
and  semivisible  hands  were  observed  at  this  seance — hands 
described  as  having  the  shining  appearance  of  pearl,  which 
were  seen  on  Eusapia's  head,  or  issued  from  between  the  cur- 
tains, and  caressed  the  sitters.  Mme.  Bottazzi,  while  con- 
trolling the  left  hand  of  the  medium,  saw,  almost  touching 
her  left  cheek,  a  black  hand,  with  a  part  of  the  forearm,  and 
was  so  vividly  impressed  by  it  that  she  changed  her  position 
and  took  one  farther  off. 

Various  objects  from  the  cabinet  were  conveyed  by  some 
mysterious  means  on  to  the  seance  table.  The  little  drum 
made  repeated  attempts  to  climb  on  to  the  table,  while  Pro- 
fessors Galeotti  and  Bottazzi  were  closely  observing  it.  A 
bouquet  of  flowers,  placed  at  a  distance  of  more  than  three 
feet  from  the  medium  skimmed  across  the  seance  table  and 
landed  in  Mme.  Bottazzi's  lap. 

At  the  fourth  seance,  lights  were  obtained  for  the  first 
time.  Hands  and  closed  fists  appeared  over  Eusapia's  head, 
sometimes  of  ordinary  size,  sometimes,  we  are  told,  "at  least 
three  times  larger  than  Mme.  Palladino's  hands  and  fists." 
Professor  Bottazzi  tried,  on  two  or  three  occasions,  to  grasp 
these  hands,  but  the  apparition  invariably  dissolved  and  he 
grasped  only  empty  space.  Twice  a  black  form  was  seen.  A 
stethoscope  was  taken  to  pieces  and  put  together  again,  which 
is  certainly  a  very  difficult  feat  zvith  one  hand.  The  follow- 
ing incident  then  occurred,  which  has  great  interest: 

"While  the  numerous  touches  and  kissings  were  going  on, 
which  I  felt  and  announced  each  time  (although  everybody 
heard  them),  on  one  occasion  when  my  forehead  had  been 


:ii2       '  Eusapla  Palladino 

strongly  rubbed,  my  pince-nez  fell  off  ray  nose  upon  my 
knees.  I  wear  them  without  a  cord  and  I  thought  they  had 
fallen  on  to  the  ground.  I  inquired  at  once  of  'John,'  and  I 
distinctly  felt  soon  afterwards  a  very  delicate  touch  on  my 
knee,  as  if  a  hand  were  trying  to  find  something,  and  the 
pince-nez  were  immediately  replaced  on  my  nose,  with  a  very 
precise  action.  Needless  to  say  I  was  keeping  strict  control 
of  the  medium  all  the  time." 

The  tambourine  was  then  played,  various  letters  on  a 
typewriter  were  struck,  and  the  sound  was  heard  as  of 
fingers  running  over  the  typewriter.  An  electric  spring  key, 
used  by  telegraphers,  was  pressed,  and  finally  the  key  was 
torn  to  one  side,  and  depressed  so  strongly  that  the  metal 
was  bent  and  the  key  practically  destroyed.  The  metronome 
was  set  going,  and,  upon  request,  stopped. 

The  fifth  seance  was  notable  for  a  number  of  quite  re- 
markable phenomena.  After  several  levitations,  the  mando- 
lin was  touched  and  the  strings  of  it  twanged.  The  move- 
ment of  the  mandolin  was  observed  by  M.  Scarpa,  who  saw 
the  mandolin  rise,  and  fall  back  again,  then  turn  over  with- 
out any  hand  touching  it  and  in  good  light.  Every  move- 
ment of  Mme.  Palladino's  arm  was  clearly  perceivable  at 
the  time.  An  impression  of  three  fingers  was  left  on  a  cake 
of  clay  placed  in  the  cabinet,  and  invisible  hands  began  to 
finger  the  wires  and  other  instruments  inside  the  cabinet. 
The  following  phenomena  then  occurred; 

"Suddenly,  without  any  warning,  a  sharp  rap  was  heard 
upon  the  table.  I  looked,  I  felt.  It  was  one  of  the  glasses 
that  had  arrived,  after  pouring  out  on  those  nearest  to  it 
the  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper  which  it  contained.  Pass- 
ing my  left  hand  over  my  clothes  I  found  them  to  be  quite 
svet,  and  I  complained  to  Eusapia,  begging  her  not  to  play 


Eusapia  Palladino  113 

practical  jokes  of  this  sort,  because,  as  I  told  her,  the  liquid 
contained  in  the  glasses  was  not  innocuous,  but  might  injure 
us,  and  leave  stains  on  our  clothes.  I  had  hardly  said  this 
when  we  heard  on  the  floor  the  sound  of  a  liquid  being  vio- 
lently poured  from  out  of  the  small  vessel,  and  immediately 
afterwards  the  other  glass,  almost  empty,  was  placed  on  the 
table  beside  the  first,  also  making  a  sharp  rap." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  seance,  various  graphic  records 
were  obtained  by  means  of  raps  on  the  electric  key,  etc. 

At  the  sixth  seance  an  interesting  phenomenon  took  place, 
demonstrating  the  synchronous  character  of  some  of  the  phe- 
nomena with  movements  of  Eusapia's  body.  Thus,  two 
electric  keys  were  arranged,  one  within  the  reach  of  Eusapia, 
the  other  beyond  it.  Eusapia  touched  one  key  with  her  left 
hand,  and  depressed  it  a  number  of  times.  Exactly  corre- 
sponding with  these  depressions,  the  other  key,  beyond  her 
reach,  was  also  depressed,  showing  that  the  keys  were  pressed 
with  perfect  synchronism.  The  sixth  seance  was  largely  de- 
voted to  attempts  to  obtain  graphic  records  of  some  of  the 
phenomena,  but  no  definite  results  were  obtained. 

The  seventh  seance,  however,  was  far  more  productive  of 
results.  Various  touches  were  experienced  by  Professor  Bot- 
tazzi,  and,  soon  after  the  seance  began,  his  chair  was  sud- 
denly seized  from  behind,  fingers  of  the  hands  moving  it 
being  distinctly  felt,  and  he  was  pulled  backward  toward 
the  cabinet.  Professor  Bottazzi  states  that  he  and  the  chair 
together  weighed  two  hundred  and  four  pounds,  and  the 
following  day  he  ascertained  if  one  of  his  assistants,  who  was 
young  and  robust,  was  capable  of  moving  him  when  seated 
upon  this  same  chair.  The  assistant  was  obliged  to  use  both 
his  arms  in  order  to  drag  Professor  Bottazzi  a  few  inches, 
and  admitted  that  he  had  put  forth  all  his  strength !    A  vase 


114  Eusapia  Palladino 

containing  a  bunch  of  flowers  was  next  presented  between 
the  curtains  and  placed  upon  Mme.  Palladino's  head.  It 
was  taken  by  Professor  Bottazzi  and  placed  upon  the  seance 
table.  The  curtain  on  the  left  then  advanced  toward  the 
table,  and  a  hand,  which  was  clearly  delineated  behind  it, 
seized  the  bunch,  and  threw  it  against  the  extended  face  of 
Dr.  Poso  (to  whom  "John"  had  taken  a  violent  dislike)  as 
if  in  scorn,  and  carried  the  glass  of  water  away.  A  remark- 
able incident  then  followed,  which  is  recorded  as  follows: 

"I  have  said  that  the  drum  advanced  behind  the  left  cur- 
tain ;  Galeotti  tried  to  take  it,  but  'John'  ( I  will  speak  thus 
for  brevity)  pulled  it  out  of  his  hands,  carrying  it  inside 
the  cabinet,  and  reappeared.  Galeotti  took  it  back,  but  the 
other  did  not  let  go;  then  followed  an  amusing  struggle 
which  lasted  several  seconds,  during  which  we  distinctly 
saw  the  drum  contested  by  Galeotti,  who  held  it  outside,  and 
'John,'  who  held  it  inside,  with  a  hand  covered  by  the  cur- 
tain. The  struggle  was  so  lively  that  a  little  piece  of  the 
case  of  the  drum  was  torn  off.  Finally  it  remained  in 
Galeotti's  hands.  Galeotti  then  had  a  good  idea.  He  got 
up,  raised  the  drum  with  one  hand  against  the  curtain  and 
said:  'Hit  it,  John!'  The  curtain  shook,  it  was  pushed  out 
toward  the  drum  as  if  by  a  hand,  and  we  heard  muffled, 
yet  distinct,  beats  on  the  drum ;  we  were  amazed.  M.  Gal- 
eotti was  standing,  be  it  observed,  with  his  arm  raised,  and 
Mme.  Palladino  was  seated.  Even  if  we  suppose  that  she 
could  have  liberated  one  hand  (certainly  not  the  one  under 
my  control;  and  Mme.  B.  declares  she  did  not  liberate  the 
other,  but  one  cannot  be  absolutely  certain),  Eusapia,  being 
seated,  could  not  have  touched  the  drum — unless  she  had  had 
gigantically  long  arms,  or  unless  her  natural  arms  had  been 
suddenly  elongated. 

"Once,  when  the  drum  was  presented  above  Eusapia's 
head  from  the  interior  of  the  cabinet,  I  said  to  Dr.  Poso: 
'Take  it.'  He  got  up,  approached  the  drum  and  stretched 
out  his  arm.     But  the  drum  withdrew  a  little,  then  it  vio- 


Eusapia  Palladino  115 

lently  moved  as  If  to  give  a  blow,  and  pushed  back  the  hand 
that  tried  to  seize  it.     John  was  still  in  a  bad  humor." 

"The  materializations,"  says  Professor  Bottazzi,  "were 
numerous  and  very  important.  Four  times  I  saw  an  enor- 
mous black  fist  come  out  from  behind  the  left  curtain,  which 
remained  motionless,  and  advance  toward  the  head  of  Mme. 
B.  Immediately  afterwards  this  lady  said  that  she  had  been 
touched  eitiier  on  the  cheek,  the  ear,  or  the  neck.  The  last 
time  the  fist  remained  so  long  outside  that  when,  at  my  re- 
quest, everyone  looked  that  way,  it  was  quite  distinctly  seen 
by  all.  But  what  I  am  about  to  relate  is  perhaps  the  phe- 
nomenon  which  most  impressed  me. 

"I  felt  an  open  hand  seize  me  from  behind,  gently,  by  the 
neck.  Instinctively  I  let  go  of  Dr.  Poso's  right  hand  with 
my  left,  and  I  carried  it  where  I  clearly  felt  this  sensation 
of  contact,  and  I  found  the  hand  which  was  touching  me : 
a  left  hand,  neither  cold  nor  hot,  with  rough,  bony  fingers 
which  dissolved  under  pressure;  they  did  not  retire  by  pro- 
ducing a  sensation  of  withdrawal,  but  they  dissolved,  de- 
mat  erializcd,  melted. 

"Shortly  afterwards,  the  same  hand  was  laid  on  my  head ; 
I  carried  mine  quickly  to  the  spot,  I  felt  it,  I  grasped  it; 
it  was  obliterated  arid  again  disappeared  in  my  grasp. 

"Another  time,  later  on,  the  same  hand  was  placed  on 
my  right  forearm,  without  squeezing  it.  On  this  occasion 
I  not  only  carried  my  left  hand  to  the  spot,  but  I  looked, 
so  I  could  see  and  feel  at  the  same  time ;  I  saw  a  human 
hand,  of  natural  color,  and  I  felt  with  mine  the  fingers  and 
the  back  of  a  lukewarm,  nervous,  rough  hand.  The  hand 
dissolved,  and  (/  saw  it  with  my  eyes)  retreated  as  if  into 
Mme.  Palladino's  body,  describing  a  curve.  I  confess  that 
I  felt  some  doubt  as  to  w-hether  Eusapia's  left  hand  had  freed 
itself  from  my  right  hand,  to  reach  my  forearm ;  but  at  the 
same  instant  I  was  able  to  prove  to  myself  that  the  doubt 
was  groundless,  because  our  two  hands  were  still  in  con- 
tact in  the  ordinary'  way.  If  all  the  observed  phenomena 
of  the  seven  seances  were  to  disappear  from  my  memory, 
this  one  I  could  never  forget.  .  .  . 


Ii6  Eusapia  Palladino 

"Two  apparitions  of  human  faces  were  also  seen,  not 
dark,  but  natural  in  color,  verj'^  pale,  almost  diaphanous, 
but  well  lit  up.  Each  time  the  apparition  was  announced 
by  Eusapia.  The  first  time  a  head  appeared  above  hers; 
but  I  did  not  see  it,  and  I  report  this  according  to  what  I 
was  told  by  the  others.  It  was  asked:  'Who  is  it?'  and  Eusa- 
pia replied  in  a  thin  voice:  'It  isPeppino!'  The  second  time 
Eusapia  leaned  her  brow  on  mine,  and  said  immediately 
afterwards:  'Look!'  We  looked  and  saw  behind  the  edge 
of  the  left  curtain  a  very  pale  human  head,  clearly  lit  up. 
We  were  not  at  all  in  agreenient  as  to  the  interpretation  of 
the  vision.  M.  B.  affirmed  that  he  saw  the  head  of  John 
King  in  a  turban,  as  he  has  been  seen  at  other  seances ;  M. 
Galeotti  also  said  that  he  saw  something  white  round  a  head, 
which  must  have  been  a  turban." 

An  eighth  seance  was  held  in  July,  1907,  In  the  physiologi- 
cal laboratory,  on  which  occasion  Eusapia's  hands  were  secure- 
ly tied  and  sealed  to  two  iron  rings  fastened  to  the  floor. 
Strong  cords  led  to  the  wrists  from  these  rings,  and  were 
wound  round  them  and  securely  tied.  The  length  of  the 
cords  was  such  that,  no  matter  in  what  direction  she  moved 
her  hands,  she  could  reach  none  of  the  objects  in  the  cabinet. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  seance,  the  ropes  and  seals  were  ex- 
amined, and  were  found  to  be  intact.  Yet,  during  the  seance, 
various  articles  were  carried  from  the  cabinet  on  to  the  table — 
touches,  raps,  apparitions  of  hands,  and  huge  fists  were  seen, 
as  well  as  the  following  phenomena,  recorded  by  Professor 
Bottazzi : 

"(i)  Eusapia  said  to  me:  'Stretch  out  your  arm  on  your 
wife's  shoulder.'  I  did  so,  and  felt  the  trumpet  being  held 
out  toward  me  from  behind  the  curtain,  and  I  at  once  recog- 
nized it  by  the  touch.  I  seized  it  and  placed  it  on  the  little 
table. 

"(2)    Later  on,  without  any  warning,  a  sound  as  if  the 


Eusapia  Palladino  117 

curtain  were  being  touched  was  heard  on  Eusapia's  right 
side.  The  curtain  shook  a  little,  while  the  vase  of  flowers 
advanced  on  the  same  side.  I  seized  the  latter  and  placed  it 
on  the  small  table. 

"(3)  While  Galeotti  was  controlling  Eusapia's  right  hand, 
he  distinctly  saw  the  doubling  of  the  left  arm  of  the  me- 
dium. 'Look,'  he  exclaimed,  'I  see  two  left  arms — identical 
in  appearance ;  one  is  on  the  little  table,  and  it  is  that  which 
M.  Bottazzi  touches,  and  the  other  seems  to  come  out  of  her 
shoulder — to  approach  her,  and  touch  her,  and  then  return 
and  melt  into  her  body  again.  This  is  not  an  hallucina- 
tion. I  am  awake,  I  am  conscious  of  the  two  simultaneous 
visual  sensations,  which  I  experience  when  Mme,  Bottazzi 
says  that  she  has  been  touched.'  " 

Professor  Bottazzi,  in  commenting  on  these  phenomena, 
says: 

"It  would  be  necessary  to  have  Mme.  Palladino's  fingers 
in  the  palm  of  one's  hand,  as  I  had  that  evening,  in  order  to 
be  convinced  that  the  Icvitations,  the  twanging  of  the  strings, 
etc.,  all  s3'nchronized  with  the  very  delicate  movements  of  her 
fingers,  and  with  the  dragging  and  pushing  movements  of  the 
medium's  hand,  as  if  she  were  directed  in  the  execution  of  these 
movements  by  a  will  which  knew  the  effect  to  be  produced. 
These  were  not  irregular,  impulsive,  disordered  movements 
— they  were  precise  and  coordinated.  Whether  they  were 
movements  of  one  finger,  or  of  several  fingers,  and  were 
identical  with  those  which  we  should  make  if  we  tried  to 
seize  or  to  vibrate  the  strings  with  precision  and  delicacy. 
Two  of  us,  M.  Scarpa  and  I,  had  our  eyes  fixed  on  the 
mandolin,  and  we  can  affirm  with  assurance  that  the  instru- 
ment, lit  up  by  the  lamp  above  it,  was  not  touched  by 
Eusapia's  visible  hands,  which  were  at  least  thirty  inches 
away,  but  that  it  moved  by  itself,  as  if,  by  enchantment, 
it  had  been  provided  with  motor  organs.  It  looked  like 
the  carcass  of  some  monstrous  reptile,  which  had  been  re- 
stored to  life.    I  cannot  describe  the  sensation  one  experiences 


Ii8  Eusapia  Palladino 

when  seeing  an  inanimate  object  move,  not  for  a  mo- 
ment merely,  but  for  many  minutes  in  succession,  and,  watch- 
ing it  together  in  silence,  moving  among  immovable  objects, 
untouched,  under  the  action  of  some  mysterious  force.  .  .  . 
The  medium  does  not  only  move  objects,  but  also  feels  with 
her  invisible  limbs,  and  while  the  movement  was  performed 
on  the  left,  phenomena  occurred  to  the  right  of  Mme.  Palla- 
dino." 

As  the  result  of  his  seances.  Professor  Bottazzi  concluded 
that  the  phenomena  are  undoubted — whatever  their  inter- 
pretation. He  further  asserted  that  fraud  had  never  been 
even  attempted  at  their  seances,  that  Eusapia  never  used 
any  expedients  to  deceive  him,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  she 
invariably  warned  them  every  time  she  moved  a  table  or  a 
curtain  with  her  own  hands.     He  concludes: 

"To  those  who  deny  without  having  seen,  affirming 
a  priori  the  impossibility  of  these  phenomena,  one  must  reply : 
'First  see ;  then  you  may  argue.'  " 


§  20.  Report  of  a  Seance  Held  in  Naples — 1908 

The  following  interesting  seance  was  held  in  Professor 
Bottazzi's  laboratory,  under  the  same  conditions  as  his  former 
seances,  and  was  attended  by  Mr.  Oilman  Hall,  one  of  the 
editors  of  Everybody's  Magazine,  and  Dr.  Herbert  R.  Moody, 
Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York.  These  gentlemen  drew  up  the  reports  of  the  seance, 
which  were  originally  published  in  Everybody's,  and  which, 
with  their  kind  permission,  and  that  of  the  magazine,  I  quote 
herewith.  It  gives  us  a  vivid  pen  picture  of  a  typical  seance 
— as  seen  through  the  eyes  of  an  unprejudiced  investigator. 


Eusapia  Palladino  119 


A  Stance  with  Mme.  Palladino 

The  seance  was  held  in  the  same  laboratory  and  with  the 
same  cabinet  that  Professor  Bottazzi  had  used  in  all  his  pre- 
vious experiments.  It  was  a  bare  room  with  cement  floor  and 
bare  walls — a  room  with  almost  no  fixtures  or  laboratory 
paraphernalia.  There  were  one  or  two  shelves  around;  a 
stone  pedestal;  and  a  window  opening  on  a  garden.  The 
cabinet  was  formed  by  a  recess  opposite  the  door  by  which  we 
had  entered;  and  the  back  of  it  was  a  door  leading  into 
another  laboratory.  This  door  and  the  door  leading  out  of 
the  second  laboratory  were  locked  by  Professor  Bottazzi  in 
Dr.  Moody's  presence,  and  Professor  Bottazzi  put  the  keys' 
in  his  pocket.  The  cabinet  was  about  twenty-four  inches 
deep.  Professor  Bottazzi  had  placed  in  it  a  shelf  nine  inches 
wide  about  three  feet  from  the  floor,  and  on  this  shelf  he 
had  put  various  things — a  scale,  a  trumpet,  a  small  drum, 
a  box  of  matches,  a  heavy  brass  candlestick,  and  an  electric 
bell. 

There  was  no  intention  on  our  part  of  reporting  the 
seance.  The  time  was  too  short  for  extensive  preparations. 
So,  while  we  took  many  precautions  and  made  a  number  of 
tests,  yet  we  depended  on  Professor  Bottazzi  for  all  the 
preliminary  arrangements. 

Professor  Bottazzi  and  his  assistant  joined  us  at  the  table, 
making  a  party  of  nine,  which  proved  an  unwieldy  number. 
Mme.  Palladino  sat  about  one  foot  in  front  of  the  curtain 
that  hung  before  the  recess,  and  faced  the  end  of  the  table. 
I  sat  at  her  right,  but  around  the  corner.  Mme.  Palladino 
faced  east,  I  looked  north.  xMrs.  Moody  sat  beside  me  and 
Dr.  Moody  beside  her,  both  facing  north.  Mrs.  Hall  sat 
at  the  medium's  left  and  opposite  me,  facing  south.  The 
rest  of  the  party  finished  out  the  circle,  which  extended  be- 
yond the  table.  Professor  Bottazzi  sat  directly  opposite 
Mme,  Palladino  and  at  least  three  feet  beyond  the  end  of 
the  table.  Mrs.  Hall  and  I  by  our  position  were  in  charge 
of  the  psychic,  and  it  was  our  duty  to  see  that  all  the  neces- 
sary tests  were  put  on  her.     I  held  her  right  hand.     By  her 


120  Eusapia  Palladino 

instructions,  I  pressed  my  knee  against  hers  and  put  my  left 
foot  over  her  right  one.  Mrs.  Hall  applied  the  same  tests 
on  the  left. 

The  curtains  in  front  of  the  cabinet  were  black,  made  of 
some  thin  material  like  cheesecloth.  The  table  was  a  light 
deal  one — about  two  by  four,  and  the  chairs  were  rather 
light,  common  ones.  We  began  the  seance  with  a  red  sixteen- 
candle  electric  light  on  a  wall  bracket,  quite  high  above  Mrs. 
Hall's  head,  and  a  sixteen-candle  white  light  on  a  small  shelf 
back  of  Professor  Bottazzi.  Soon,  at  Mme.  Palladino's  re- 
quest, we  turned  the  white  light  out.  The  seance  was  not 
one  hour  along  when,  by  request  of  the  "spirit"  controlling 
the  medium,  we  placed  a  handkerchief  over  the  red  light. 
Later,  we  put  another  handkerchief  on.  And  later  still,  the 
handkerchiefs  burned  and  we  took  them  both  off.  We  could 
see  plainly  all  through  the  seance. 

Within  a  minute  after  we  seated  ourselves,  the  table  be- 
gan to  tremble.  I  noticed  it  almost  instantly  and  called  the 
attention  of  everyone  to  it.  It  seemed  to  me  as  though  the 
fiber  of  the  wood  was  vibrating. 

Within  five  minutes,  the  table  began  to  rock  and  rise  from 
the  floor.  One  end  would  lift  up  from  six  to  twelve  inches 
and  then  drop  noisily.  Now  one  end,  now  the  other  would 
come  up.  Then  the  table  would  lift  on  one  side.  Dr.  Moody 
pressed  against  it  at  one  of  these  times  and  said  he  thought 
it  took  a  pressure  of  three  pounds  to  force  a  release  of  the 
table  from  the  unseen  power. 

Soon  raps  began.  The  table  was  pounded  on  the  floor 
for  raps — generally  ordinarj'  ones ;  but  now  and  then  it  would 
strike  the  floor  with  great  violence,  giving  a  startling  effect 
of  emphasis.  The  table  tipping  continued  at  intervals 
throughout  the  seance,  growing  stronger  and  more  pro- 
nounced as  time  wore  on.  There  was  one  very  dramatic  lift 
near  the  end  of  the  sitting.  Mme.  Palladino  suddenly  thrust 
both  her  hands  high  above  her — Mrs.  Hall  and  I  being  drawn 
from  our  chairs  in  our  efforts  to  retain  our  holds  on  her,  and 
the  table — every  leg  of  it — rose  all  of  eighteen  inches  from 
the  floor.     The  synchronism  which  Mr.  Garland  told  of  in 


Eusapia  Palladino  121 

his  articles  was  perfect  in  this  experiment.  The  table  fol- 
lowed the  psychic's  hands  on  the  moment. 

The  first  twenty  minutes  we  spent  in  try^'ng  to  identify 
the  "spirit"  controlling;  the  raps.  There  was  talk  of  a  "John 
King" — whom  Mme.  Palladino  said  was  her  "spirit  control." 
We  asked  if  there  was  anyone  in  the  room  with  whom  the 
spirit  wished  to  communicate  and  got  an  answer — "yes." 
It  proved  to  be  Mrs.  Moody  that  was  meant,  and  soon  the 
table  moved  toward  her — nearer  and  nearer — and  finally 
pressed  against  her  chest.  But  the  answers  were  contradic- 
tory, the  results  futile,  and  we  gave  it  up.  Anyway, 
we  were  looking  for  pliysical  phenomena. 

The  next  manifestation  after  the  table  raising  was  a  sud- 
den swirl  of  the  curtain,  which  enveloped  me  completely. 
From  hanging  limp,  it  suddenly  rose  high  in  the  air — as 
though  blown  by  a  strong  wind — and  fell  over  me.  I  re- 
mained in  that  position  a  full  ten  minutes ;  for  it  gave  me  an 
excellent  view  of  the  inside  of  the  cabinet.  But  nothing  of 
importance  occurred  there,  be\'ond  a  marked  movement  of 
the  other  curtain.  I  had  hardly  thrown  the  curtain  off  when 
there  was  a  crackling  sound  and  the  table  leg  under  me  be- 
gan to  split,  at  the  point  where  it  joined  the  table.  I  felt 
the  leg  press  against  me  as  it  m.oved.  Professor  Bottazzi 
cried  out  a  protest,  "Here,  John  iving,  leave  my  table 
alone,"  and  it  stopped. 

"He  broke  a  table  to  pieces  for  me  once.  I  do  not  want 
it  done  again,"  commented  Professor  Bottazzi. 

The  action  seemed  like  that  of  a  miniature  flash  of  light- 
ning; the  sound  was  of  rending  wood — a  splitting,  tearing 
sound. 

We  spent  sometime  trying  to  persuade  the  "spirit"  to 
bring  us  a  fan  which  lay  on  the  pedestal  under  the  red  light, 
but  we  failed  utterly.  A  minute  later,  though,  some  force 
knocked  the  matches  from  the  shelf  in  the  cabinet  to  the 
floor.  Suddenly  Professor  Bottazzi  cried  out  excitedly: 
"Here  comes  the  candlestick."  There  darted  through  my 
mind  the  thought  that  this  was  the  crucial  time  for  me  to 
know  beyond  all  doubt  that  I  was  holding  Mme.  Palladino's 


122  Eusapia  Palladino 

hand.  I  clenched  it  firmly  and  instead  of  looking  at  the 
candlestick  I  gazed  steadfastly  at  the  hand  I  held.  The 
candlestick,  a  heavy  brass  one,  and  the  candle  it  held  came 
from  the  shelf  in  the  cabinet  up  through  the  opening  in  the 
curtains  about  a  foot  above  the  medium's  head,  and  landed 
with  a  crashing  blow  on  the  table  in  front  of  Mrs.  Moody. 
The  candle  fell  out  and  then  both  candle  and  stick  rolled  into 
her  lap.  On  the  way  to  the  laboratory  I  had  said :  "If  I  could 
only  see  some  object  moved  one  inch  I  should  be  satisfied." 
I  had  had  my  wish  in  full  measure. 

We  had  not  time  to  recover  before  a  heavy,  clumsy,  crock- 
ery plate  containing  a  wad  of  clay,  which  Professor  Bottazzi 
had  placed  in  a  vacant  chair  some  two  feet  to  the  left  of 
Mme.  Palladino,  came  hurtling  with  tremendous  force  and 
almost  superhuman  speed  on  to  the  table.  It  landed  with 
a  really  appalling  noise.  The  effect  was  as  though  it  had 
been  thrown  by  a  giant's  hand  and  in  great  anger.  There 
was  a  wait  of  a  few  minutes.  Then  some  force  swept  the 
remaining  objects  from  the  shelf  in  the  cabinet.  The  drum 
fell,  the  trumpet  followed ;  there  was  a  succession  of  various 
noises  from  falling  bodies.  "There  go  the  scales,"  said  Pro- 
fessor Bottazzi,  as  the  heavy  thud  of  falling  iron  was 
heard. 

For  some  of  his  previous  experiments,  Professor  Bottazzi 
told  me,  he  had  cut  a  peephole  in  the  door  which  formed  the 
back  of  the  cabinet,  and  one  of  his  assistants  had  been  sta- 
tioned there.  An  electric  light  was  placed  on  the  wall  of 
the  cabinet,  the  wires  for  which  led  to  a  push  button  in  Pro- 
fessor Bottazzi's  pocket.  During  some  of  the  amazing  phe- 
nomena, such  as  we  witnessed.  Dr.  Bottazzi  had  switched  on 
the  light  so  that  his  assistant  could  see  clearly  into  the  cabi- 
net. He  proved  beyond  a  question  that  no  one  approached  the 
cabinet  from  behind,  and  that  no  one  was  in  it. 

If  Mme.  Palladino  went  into  a  trance,  it  was  not,  for  the 
major  part  of  the  time,  a  deep  one.  She  was  conscious  of 
almost  all  our  doings.  During  the  seance,  and  particularly 
during  the  earlier  stages  of  it,  she  coughed  a  great  deal,  cleared 
her  throat  repeatedly,  and  suffered  severely  from  hiccoughs. 


Eusapia  Palladino  123 

She  interspersed  her  manifestations  with  remarks  to  Pro- 
fessor Bottazzi,  which  he  sometimes  translated.  Often  she 
called  out  in  a  half  moan  asking  if  we  had  a  good  control 
over  her.  "She  alwaj's  inquires  about  that,"  volunteered 
our  mentor.  A  dozen  times  during  the  evening  she  cried 
out  in  complaint  of  our  gripping  her  hands  so  tightly.  Just 
before  anything  spectacular  happened  she  moaned,  and  seemed 
to  sink  suddenly  but  temporarily  into  a  deeper,  perhaps  an 
entire  trance.  Her  head  would  roll  a  little  from  side  to  side, 
but  in  a  moment  she  would  return  to  her  half  consciousness 
again,  and  would  show  a  somewhat  dazed  knowledge  of  what 
was  going  on.  Before  the  seance  was  a  half  hour  old,  she 
threw  her  legs  up  on  our  laps — her  left  leg  on  Mrs.  Hall's 
lap  and  her  right  one  on  mine.  She  held  this  position  for 
a  good  part  of  the  sitting.  Before  and  during  the  manifesta- 
tions, there  were  violent  convulsive  movements  of  the  arms 
and  sometimes  of  the  legs.  We  grew  used  to  these  and  soon 
learned  to  call  out  a  warning  of  some  impending  action  when 
we  felt  these  muscular  movements. 

The  next  occurrence  was  a  startling  one — and  aimed  di- 
rectly at  me.  My  chair  was  seized  from  behind  by  a  power- 
ful force,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  drag  it  from  under 
me.  I  had  again  the  impression  of  a  giant  at  work  in  our 
presence.  I  cried  out.  All  saw  me  moving.  The  force 
tugged  at  the  chair  and  nearly  succeeded  in  getting  it  from 
me.  I  was  swerved  around  so  that  I  faced  Airs.  Moody  and 
was  seated  on  only  a  third  of  the  chair.  Though  everj-one 
saw  me  moving,  no  one  saw  any  figure  or  apparition  back  of 
me.  I  had  just  resumed  my  position  when  I  felt  a  hand  move 
across  my  back  as  though  some  one  were  reaching  by  me  to 
Mrs.  Moody.  Mrs.  Hall,  too,  felt  some  one  touch  her  on 
the  back. 

There  was  a  series  of  remarkable  kicks  in  the  cabinet — a 
noise  like  the  pounding  of  a  horse's  hoof  in  a  near-by  stable 
in  the  dead  of  night.  No  man  could  have  produced  it.  It 
was  made  apparently  within  the  fiber  of  the  wood.  And  here 
the  synchronism  between  the  convulsive  workings  of  the  me- 
dium's muscles  and  the  manifestations  was  marked.     Mrs. 


124  Eusapia  Palladino 

Hall  felt  Mme.  Palladino's  foot  thrust  forward  with  great 
force,  In  time  with  each  kick  in  the  cabinet  behind  her. 

Professor  Bottazzi  here  said  that  he  was  surprised  at  our 
calmness.  We  ought  to  get  more  excited.  We  ought  to 
talk  more — to  demand  manifestations.  We  should  select 
some  one  thing  and  then  clamor  for  it.  Supposing,  for  in- 
stance, we  tried  to  lift  the  empty  chair  to  the  table. 

So  we  tried. 

Mme.  Palladino  asked  us  to  set  our  minds  on  the  task. 
We  did.  We  all  talked  at  one  time.  We  called  out  de- 
mands that  the  chair  be  lifted.  The  noise  became  a  veritable 
babel.  Mme.  Palladino's  hands  worked  convulsively — 
though  held  by  us — as  if  in  an  effort  to  lift  the  chair.  And 
up  it  came — a  foot  or  so  from  the  floor,  giving  the  impres- 
sion of  a  magnet's  work.  Then,  as  if  the  magnet's  power 
had  failed,  the  chair  dropped  to  the  floor  and  rocked  back 
to  its  normal  position.  Twice,  three  times,  four  times  we 
tried,  but  the  lifting  power  was  not  strong  enough.  After 
a  few  moments,  however,  with  amazing  swiftness  the  chair 
came  on  to  the  table — and  lay  on  its  back.  It  seemed  in- 
credible. We  made  several  efforts  to  will  the  chair  to  an 
upright  position,  but  in  that  we  did  not  succeed. 

Mme.  Palladino  here  spoke  to  Professor  Bottazzi  in  a 
half-querulous  voice.  "She  is  complaining  of  the  circle,"  he 
said.  "She  says  it  is  a  poor  one  and  does  not  help  her."  I 
realized  the  truth  of  her  complaint.  The  circle  was  un- 
wieldy in  numbers ;  having  no  common  language  was  a  serious 
handicap ;  Mme.  Palladino  had  been  ill  for  two  months  and 
was  far  from  strong;  three  of  our  party  knew  nothing  of 
psychics;  Dr.  Moody  had  come  to  the  meeting  under  pro- 
test and  in  utter  scorn  of  it  all.  There  were  a  dozen  reasons 
why  the  circle  was  of  small  potency. 

The  blowing  out  of  the  curtain  was  a  frequent  occurrence, 
and  those  nearest  the  cabinet  felt  often  a  cool  breeze — a^ 
though  a  window  had  been  thrown  open.  "Has  anyone 
noticed  a  light  above  Mme.  Palladino's  head?"  inquired  Dr. 
Bottazzi.  We  all  turned  to  him.  "There  it  is  now,"  called 
Mrs.  Hall,  and  we  all  turned  quickly  back.    But  it  had  gone. 


Eusapia  Palladino  125 

"Let's  will  it  back,"  suggested  some  one,  and  we  set  up  a 
clamor  demanding  it.  It  came  at  once — a  pear-shaped  light 
about  six  inches  above  the  medium's  head.  I  did  not  see  it, 
but  every  other  member  of  the  circle  did.  It  appeared  to 
them  like  a  faint  electric  ii^ht  shinin;;  through  a  ground-glass 
bulb.  At  the  same  time  IVIme.  Palladino's  face  was  illumi- 
nated.    Her  skin  shone  as  though  phosphorescent. 

It  was  now  twelve  o'clock  and  we  broke  up  the  circle.  We 
arose,  turned  on  the  white  electric  light,  and  I  walked  around 
the  table.  Professor  Bottazzi  then  took  Mme.  Palladino's 
hand — in  bright  light  and  with  no  circle — and  produced 
sharp  raps.  He  beat  her  hand  toward  the  table,  stopping 
short  when  within  twelve  inches  of  the  top — and  a  rap  would 
come  from  under  the  table.  Most  of  the  phenomena  had 
been  synchronous  with  her  movements,  but  these  raps  would 
follow  a  perceptible  moment  after  the  beat  of  the  finger. 

I  have  been  often  asked  if  I  was  convinced.  I  can  see  no 
other  alternative  than  acceptance  of  the  phenomena.  Only 
one  of  the  main  phenomena  took  place  entirely  in  the  cabi- 
net ;  only  one  other  important  one — the  moving  of  the  candle- 
stick— originated  in  the  cabinet.  All  the  rest  of  the  mani- 
festations occurred  in  the  room  and  in  clear  light.  There 
could  not  possibly  have  been  any  preparations  in  the  labora- 
tory that  would  not  have  been  visible  to  us.  Had  Mme. 
Palladino  used  paraphernalia  for  trickery,  we  should  have 
been  able  to  see  it  when  the  manifestations  were  in  process — 
for  it  was  light  enough  for  that.  On  these  points  we  are 
all  agreed. 

I  asked  Professor  Bottazzi  about  the  chances  of  fake.  He 
was  as  impatient  of  the  subject  as  he  had  been  of  spiritual- 
ism. He  had  had  trained  scientific  men  to  help  him  in  his 
experiments.  Many  people  had  been  present  at  the  various 
seances.  The  phenomena  iiad  been  established  in  utter  final- 
ity. But  they  had  led  nowhere.  He  had  reached  only  a 
circle  of  phenomena.  He  had  "come  face  to  a  blank  wall." 
He  was  through — for  the  present,  anyway. 

Professor  Bottazzi's  assistant  brought  Mme.  Palladino  a 
cup  of  strong  coffee.    She  seemed  dazed  and  in  real  distress. 


126  Eusapia  Palladino 

Where  she  had  been  gracious  before,  she  now  seemed  hardly 
to  realize  our  presence.  She  showed  many  of  the  symptoms 
of  a  person  in  dire  seasickness.  She  looked  old  and  seamed 
and  yellow.  She  seemed  to  have  little  strength  left.  She 
dranic  a  little  coffee,  placed  the  cup  on  a  shelf,  crossed  the 
room  to  the  window  opening  on  the  garden,  and  vomited. 
Professor  Bottazzi  said  she  was  always  weak  and  nauseated 
after  a  sitting.  We  all  stood  about,  and  I,  for  one,  felt  like 
a  guilty  child.  It  seemed  wrong  that  we  should  have  caused 
this  woman  such  sickness  just  to  satisfy  our  curiosity  and 
interest  in  psychical  experiments.  I  gained  an  added  respect 
for  her  from  the  thought  of  all  she  had  been  doing  for 
years  at  so  heavy  a  cost,  in  her  sittings  for  the  various  sci- 
entists. We  waited  perhaps  twenty  minutes  and  then  said 
our  farewell  to  Mme.  Palladino — a  farewell  which  she  re- 
turned with  a  limp  hand  and  an  indifference  strangely  in 
contrast  with  her  early  greetings.  Madame  went  out  first. 
As  we  left  the  building,  we  passed  her,  leaning  heavily  on 
the  arm  of  her  husband,  who  had  been  waiting  for  her  out- 
side; dragging  herself  slowly  and  painfully  along  the  nar- 
row lane  which  leads  to  one  of  those  wonderful  streets  of 
steps  in  Naples — which,  in  turn,  gives  on  the  larger  street 
where  the  carriage  waited. 

Oilman  Hall. 


Notes  on  the  Palladino  Seance 
Location: 

An  ordinary  biochemical  laboratory,  practically  unfur- 
nished, with  a  cement  floor  and  a  few  shelves,  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Naples.  TwO'  double  doors — both  leading  into 
other  laboratories  equipped  for  regular  preparative  work,  one 
door — that  by  which  we  had  entered — left  ajar  all  the  even- 
ing, with  the  room  beyond  well  lighted ;  the  other  door  shut 
and  locked  in  my  presence — after  I  had  thoroughly  examined 
the  rooms — and  the  key  put  into  Professor  Bottazzi's  pocket. 
This  latter  door  was  midway  through  an  alcove,  making  a 
recess  about  two  feet  deep  on  our  side  of  it,  the  recess  cur- 


Eusapla  Palladino  127 

tained  off  with  a  simple  black  cheesecloth  curtain.  Across 
the  back,  behind  the  curtain,  a  shelf  eight  to  ten  inches  wide. 
Equipment: 

Ten  rush-bottom  chairs;  a  large  plate  containing  clay  on 
an  unoccupied  chair  two  feet  from  Palladino;  a  plain  deal 
table — no  drawer  (could  see  under  it,  a  pedestal  five 
feet  high;  two  wall  shelves  a  foot  wide;  one  red  electric 
bracket  lamp;  and  one  portable  white  lamp  on  wall  shelf. 
Procedure: 

Circle  formed  and  all  held  hands  lightly.  Those  at  the 
two  horns  of  circle  held  Palladino's  hands  and  kept  their 
feet  and  knees  against  hers.  Later  she  extended  her  legs 
so  that  second  sitters  beyond  guarded  her  feet.  Her  move- 
ments alwa3's  kept  under  absolutely  perfect  surveillance. 
White  lamp  burned  at  first,  later  screened,  after  five  minutes 
or  so  extinguished.  This  left  full  power  red  lamp ;  later, 
receiving  five  raps  for  less  light,  this  was  screened  with  two 
handkerchiefs.  Eyes  accustomed  themselves  to  dim  light — 
all  could  see  even  the  expressions  on  others'  faces. 
Phenomena: 

Almost  imperceptible  tingling  through  hands — comparable 
to  feeble  current.  Table  began  to  rear  almost  at  once,  at 
first  with  Palladino's  hands  on  it,  but  soon  with  no  hand 
whatever  touching  it.  Maximum  height  of  elevation  about 
eighteen  inches.  Always  descended  with  violence,  not  as 
if  falling  but  as  if  thrown  down,  with  noisy  clatter.  I  pushed 
it  down  myself  once ;  requirecL  from  three  to  five  pounds' 
pressure  to  overcome  elevation.  Fiber  of  table  trembled, 
quivered.  All  in  full  light.  Got  usual  one,  two,  three,  four, 
five  knocks  at  will  at  any  time  upon  request.  Their  signifi- 
cance seemed  slight  except  as  directions  for  more  or  less  light, 
or  a  request  to  talk  among  ourselves.  Instead  of  diminish- 
ing Palladino's  po\\er  by  talking,  during  utterly  inconsequen- 
tial conversation  fine  results  came.  This  points  to  possibility 
of  desire  to  distract  attention  of  observer  until  object  is 
practically  accomplished.  If  so,  in  our  case  this  was  not  suc- 
cessful ;  we  were  continuously  alert.  Doubt  if  this  were  in- 
tended, as  conditions  absolutely  gave  no  chance  for  fraud 


128  Eusapia  Palladino 

and  because  at  all  times  when  we  concentrated  our  minds  on 
what  we  wished  done,  the  end  was  reached  more  quickly. 
For  example,  appearance  of  phosphorescent  luminosity  in 
pear-shaped  form  about  a  foot  above  Palladino's  head.  Part 
of  the  time  her  face  was  mildly  luminous.  Afterwards  Pro- 
fessor Bottazzi  rather  discredited  this,  but  it  was  apparent 
enough  to  me. 

Phenomena  of  telekinesis  were  wonderful.  Candlestick 
and  candle  came  through  opening  between  curtains  and  pro- 
ceeded in  a  leisurely  way  in  a  sort  of  parabolic  trajectory 
and  fell  rather  violently  on  edge  of  table  and  into  Mrs. 
Moody's  lap.  Plate  containing  ball  of  clay  rose  from  chair 
a  foot  from  corner  of  table  and  dropped  to  table  top  with 
a  violent  bang.  Nearly  everything  on  shelf  in  recess  was 
noisily  thrown  down  and,  queerly  enough,  directly  under 
the  shelf — not  on  the  floor  in  front  of  it.  Cool  draughts  de- 
veloped, an  "arm"  appeared  around  the  side  of  the  curtain 
at  a  height  of  about  six  feet.  Mr.  Hall's  chair  was  al- 
most pulled  from  under  him,  a  hand  touched  Mrs.  Hall's 
back,  and  after  various  slight  excursions  across  the  floor 
the  unoccupied  chair  finally  rose  and  lay  on  its  back  on 
the  table,  then  moved  off  on  to  the  floor.  Door  behind 
curtain  was  hit  several  hard  blows  resembling  kick  of  a 
horse. 

After  the  circle  was  broken,  and  in  full  light.  Professor 
Bottazzi  held  Palladino's  hand  and  moved  her  finger  tip 
through  space  of  about  an  inch.  The  finger  never  got  nearer 
than  six  inches  from  the  table,  and  yet  there  was  a  distinct 
knock  as  if  a  force  were  propelled  from  finger  and  struck 
the  table  directly  underneath.  This  was  done  in  various 
parts  of  the  table. 

Important  to  observe  that  all  kicks,  noises,  and  movements 
were  synchronous  with  spasmodic  movements  of  Palladino's 
muscles.  Also  phenomena  were  preceded  and  accompanied 
by  signs  of  hysteria,  coughs,  and  unusual  noises.  Palladino 
much  exhausted  after  sitting,  had  active  nausea,  and  no 
strength  to  leave  until  twenty  minutes  after  the  end  of  the 
sitting. 


Eusapla  Palladino  129 

Conclusion: 

Considering  the  sort  of  phenomena  that  I  am  accustomed 
to  observe,  my  preconceived  opinions  were  at  variance  with 
these  facts,  but  I  had  to  accept  what  I  saw. 

Herbert  R.  Moody,  Ph.D. 


§  21.  Report   of  the  Psychological  Institute,  Paris,   1908 

One  of  the  latest  reports  on  the  mediumship  of  Eusapia 
Palladino  is  that  issued  by  the  "Institut  General  Psycholo- 
gique,"  of  Paris,  which  appeared  in  November,  igo8,  under 
the  signature  of  M.  Jules  Courtier,  Secretary  of  the  Insti- 
tute. It  is  based  on  four  series  of  elaborate  experiments, 
carried  out  during  the  years  1905,  1906,  1907,  and  1908. 
The  Report  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  whole  of  one  part 
being  devoted  to  photographs  of  phenomena — levitatlons, 
etc.,  of  the  seance  room,  apparatus,  the  medium  herself, 
graphic  tracings  of  the  phenomena,  etc. 

The  text  of  the  Report  is  roughly  divided  into  four  parts; 
( I )  A  description  of  the  phenomena  themselves ;  ( 2 )  psycho- 
physiological studies  of  the  medium;  (3)  exploration  of  the 
physical  conditions  in  the  vicinity  of  the  medium;  and  (4) 
critical  considerations.  I  shall  give  a  brief  resume  of  these, 
in  turn. 

The  chief  sitters  at  the  seances  held  in  Paris  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Institute  were — in  addition  to  M.  Jules 
Courtier — M.  d'Arsonval,  Professor  at  the  College  de 
France;  MM.  Ballet,  RIchet,  Perrin,  Bergson,  and  Mme. 
Curie — all  professors  at  the  University  of  Paris;  M.  Char- 
pentler,  professor  at  the  Nancy  Lyceum ;  M.  Debierne,  prin- 
cipal at  the  Sorbonne,  and  M.  Yourievitch,  Secretary  to  the 
Russian  Ambassador  at  Paris. 


130  Eusapla  Palladino 

Particular  attention  was  paid  throughout  to  obtaining 
tracings  of  the  phenomena  by  the  graphic  method.  Many 
illustrations  of  such  tracings  are  given  in  the  illustrated  por- 
tion of  the  report. 

Raps  are  first  considered,  and  numerous  cases  are  cited  in 
which  these  were  obtained.  I  quote  two  of  these  cases,  by 
way  of  illustrating  the  manner  in  which  the  phenomena  were 
recorded. 

"Eusapia  says  that  she  wishes  to  hit  the  table  with  her 
head;  she  bends  her  head  three  times  over  the  table,  and 
three  strong  blows  are  heard  in  the  table.  (Controllers:  On 
the  left,  Mme.  Curie;  on  the  right,  M.  Debierne.)" 

"At  other  times,  the  blows  were  heard  in  the  table  at  the 
demand  of  the  controllers  and  as  many  times  as  the  con- 
trollers asked  for  them.  (Controllers:  On  the  left,  M. 
Curie;  on  the  right,  M.  Charles  Richet.)" 

Partial  and  complete  levitations  of  the  table  are  then  con- 
sidered. I  quote  from  an  excellent  summary  of  these  phe- 
nomena in  The  Annals  of  Psychical  Science  (July-Septem- 
ber,  1909)  : 

"The  two  hands,  feet,  and  knees  of  Eusapia  being  con- 
trolled, the  table  is  raised  suddenly,  all  four  feet  leaving  the 
ground;  then  two  and  again  four  feet;  Eusapia  closes  her 
fists,  and  holds  them  toward  the  table,  which  is  then  com- 
pletely raised  from  the  floor  five  times  in  succession,  five 
raps  being  also  given.  It  is  again  completely  raised,  while 
each  of  Eusapia's  hands  is  on  the  head  of  a  sitter.  It  is 
raised  to  the  height  of  one  foot  from  the  floor  and  suspended 
in  the  air  for  seven  seconds  while  Eusapia  kept  her  hand  on 
the  table  and  a  lighted  candle  was  placed  under  the  table ; 
it  was  completely  raised  to  a  height  of  ten  inches  from  the 
floor  and  suspended  in  the  air  for  four  seconds,  M.  Curie 


Eusapia  Palladino  131 

only  having  his  hand  on  the  table,  Eusapia's  hand  being  placed 
on  top  of  his.  It  was  completely  raised  when  M.  Curie  had 
his  hand  on  Eusapia's  knees  and  Eusapia  had  one  hand  on 
the  table  and  the  other  on  M.  Curie's  head,  her  two  feet 
tied  to  the  chair  on  which  she  was  sitting.  .  .  ." 

Wooden  cones  or  tubes  were  then  applied  to  the  table 
legs,  resembling  those  used  by  us  (see  p.  180),  but  the 
table  was  several  times  levitated  to  such  a  height  that  it 
came  completely  out  of  the  "sheaths."  An  electrical  arrange- 
ment was  then  affixed  to  the  legs  of  the  table.  Had  a  foot 
been  introduced  under  the  table  legs,  it  would  have  been 
instantly  discovered  by  means  of  signals.  Yet,  in  spite  of 
these  precautions,  the  table  continued  to  be  levitated,  but 
no  contact  was  registered  by  the  electrical  apparatus. 

It  was  noted  that  the  medium  became  heavier  by  the  weight 
of  the  table  when  the  table  w^as  levitated,  showing  that  the 
fulcrum  of  the  force  was  the  subject  herself.  Yet  she  was. 
enabled  to  voluntarily  reduce  her  weight  on  another  occa- 
sion— a  phenomenon  that  has  been  noted  years  before  at 
Milan  (pp.  30-31)- 

Bulgings  or  swellings  of  the  curtains  and  of  the  medium's 
dress  were  noted.  M.  Curie  suggested  that  this  force  might 
be  directed  by  some  mechanical  means  toward  a  distant  ob- 
ject. Accordingly,  at  the  next  seance  a  wooden  frame  was 
brought,  which,  it  was  hoped,  might  effect  this.  "It  dis- 
pleased Eusapia,  who  criticised  it  severely:  it  was  strongly 
shaken  and  finally  destroyed.  When  this  occurred,  Eusapia 
was  controlled  by  M.  Curie  on  the  left,  M.  Richet  on  the 
right,  and  her  two  feet  by  ]\I.  Yourievitch." 

Various  heavy  objects  were  seen  to  be  moved  without  ap- 
parent cause;  particularly  a  small,  three-legged  wooden 
table,  which  went  back\\ard  and  forward  at  Eusapia's  com- 


132  Eusapia  Palladino 

mand.  When  this  was  happening,  Eusapia's  feet  were  tied 
by  laces  to  the  legs  of  her  chair,  and  her  wrists  tied  to  those 
of  her  controllers.  The  following  remarkable  incident  then 
occurred,  which  I  quote  verbatim: 

"M.  Ballet  holds  Eusapia's  two  hands.  M.  d'Arsonval 
has  placed  his  arm  on  the  stool.  Eusapia  tells  M.  d'Arson- 
val to  try  to  raise  the  stool.  He  tries  to  do  so,  but  finds  it 
very  difficult.  Eusapia  leans  her  elbow  on  the  stool,  then 
she  removes  it,  and  asks  ]M.  d'Arsonval  to  raise  it  again. 
M.  d'Arsonval  cannot  succeed.  'One  would  think  it  nailed 
to  the  ground,'  said  he.  Eusapia  again  places  her  elbow  on 
the  stool,  and  M.  d'Arsonval  raises  it  then  with  difficulty. 
Some  minutes  afterwards,  Eusapia  says  to  the  stool,  'Be 
light!'  and  M.  d'Arsonval  raises  it  then  still  more  easily." 

Following  these  cases,  instances  are  given  of  touches  by 
hands;  lights,  which  formed  and  disappeared  suddenly,  etc. 
Descriptions  are  given  of  the  various  lights — for  the  details 
of  which  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  report  itself. 

The  second  portion  of  the  Report  is  devoted  to  a  psycho- 
physiological study  of  the  medium.  It  is  of  interest  primar- 
ily to  the  medical  man  and  to  the  psychologist.  Her  re- 
action times,  memory  of  colors,  memory  of  figures,  optical 
illusions,  powers  of  mental  calculation,  etc.,  were  tested,  and 
are  accurately  recorded  in  the  Report.  Experiments  testing 
her  sensibility  at  a  distance  yielded  negative  results- — which 
fact  is  of  interest,  in  view  of  the  theories  of  the  phenomena 
advanced  by  some  who  have  studied  them.  She  is  very  sensi- 
tive to  the  muscular  movements  of  her  controllers  during  the 
seance.  Her  strength  was  also  tested  with  a  dynamometer 
— with  varying  results. 

The  investigators  next  wished  to  test  the  effect  upon  phy- 
sical instruments  of  Eusapia's  "fluid."    Alterations  in  weight 


Eusapia  Palladino  133 

were  noted;  a  depression  of  a  recording  scale,  of  a  Roman 
scale,  and  a  cocoon  weigher.  The  depression  of  a  letter 
weigher  seemed  to  yield  uncertain  results.  Eusapia  suc- 
ceeded in  discharging  at  a  distance  three  electroscopes  of 
different  construction,  but  she  was  not  able  to  charge  the 
electroscope  by  means  of  the  cold  breeze  coming  from  the 
scar  in  her  skull.    No  phenomena  of  ionization  were  observed. 

"Sonorous  Waves.  A  glass  placed  in  full  light  between 
her  hands,  at  a  distance  of  three  millimeters,  was  made  to 
\'ibrate  without  apparent  contact,  as  though  a  moist  finger 
had  been  placed  on  the  edge;  then  followed  the  rhythm 
of  her  hands,  which  began  to  tremble  in  a  jerky  manner;  it 
glided  forward  and  backward,  fell  on  to  the  table  and 
broke." 

The  whole  of  the  second  part  is  devoted  to  a  critical  dis- 
cussion of  the  evidence,  and  need  not  be  summarized  here. 
Details  of  the  control  of  the  hands  and  the  feet  are  given ; 
and  it  is  stated — what  all  investigators  of  Eusapia's  medium- 
ship  know  only  too  well — that  she  objects  to  certain  kinds 
of  control.  A  long  discussion  of  her  fraud  then  follows, 
and  several  instances  are  given  where  Eusapia  was  caught 
in  the  act  of  trickery.  Her  frauds  are,  unfortunately,  only 
too  well  known,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  them 
here.  Skepticism  exists  in  the  minds  of  the  majority,  in 
any  case;  and  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  accentuate  it  by 
recitals  of  fraud.  If  the  reality  of  the  phenomena  were 
really  in  doubt,  it  might  be  justifiable  to  do  so;  but  when 
there  is  no  longer  any  doubt  as  to  the  reality  of  the  phe- 
nomena, it  would  be  misleading  to  emphasize,  unduly,  the 
small  amount  of  fraud  that  had  been  practised  in  her  seances 
in  the  past.  There  has  been  a  certain  amount  of  fraud ; 
that  is  certain.     But  I  am  convinced  that  this  amount  is  very 


134  Eusapia  Palladino 

small  indeed — compared  with  the  vast  mass  of  the  phenomena 
that  have  been  observed  in  the  past.  It  may  be  said  in  this 
connection  that  various  experiments  conducted  with  the  ob- 
ject of  duplicating  the  phenomena  by  fraudulent  means,  re- 
sulted, in  almost  every  case,  in  complete  failure. 


§  22.  Miscellaneous  Cases  Illustrative  of  the  Phenomena 

In  the  August  and  September  (1907)  issues  of  The 
Annals  of  Psychical  Science,  Dr.  Joseph  Venzano,  a  dis- 
tinguished doctor  of  Genoa,  gathered  together  a  number  of 
remarkable  instances  under  the  heading:  "A  Contribution  to 
the  Study  of  Materializations."  I  have  referred  to  one  of 
his  cases  on  pp.  283-84  when  elaborating  my  own  explanatory 
theory  of  the  facts,  and  shall  give  here  merely  a  resume 
of  his  cases,  which  are  partly  original  and  partly  gathered 
from  other  sources.  "It  is  certain,"  he  says,  "that  a  large 
proportion  of  mediumistic  phenomena  suggest  the  interven- 
tion of  a  conscious  entitj^,  who,  whatever  may  be  its  origin, 
is  able  to  objectify  itself  in  such  a  manner  as  to  acquire 
the  character  of  a  materialized  form."  He  excludes,  how- 
ever, from  this  category,  levitations  and  similar  phenomena, 
apparently  due  to  a  blind  force. 

The  first  incident  referred  to  by  Dr.  Venzano  is  that 
which  occurred  at  the  house  of  M.  Alfredo  Verisso,  at  Genoa. 
In  full  light,  it  will  be  observed,  the  following  incident 
took  place: 

"When  the  seance  had  just  begun,  and  while  the  room 
was  still  lighted  by  an  electric  lamp  of  sixteen-candle  power, 
a  very  important  phenomenon  was  observed,  namely,  a  trum- 
pet was  distinctly  heard  playing  inside  the  cabinet,  at  dif- 
ferent distances  from  the  ground,  so  that  all  heard  it.    Shortly 


Eusapia  Palladino  135 

afterwards  M.  Brignola  called  the  attention  of  the  ex- 
perimenters toward  the  ceiling,  where  the  trumpet  appeared 
suspended  in  the  air  between  the  two  curtains,  and  a  little 
behind  them,  at  a  height  of  not  less  than  a  yard  above  the 
medium's  head.  It  was  placed  transversely,  with  the  open- 
ing toward  the  right  side,  on  which  I  was  seated,  and  the 
other  extremity  toward  my  wife,  who  had  taken  her  place 
opposite  to  me  and  to  the  left  of  Eusapia.  The  hands  of  the 
latter  were  lying  motionless  on  the  table,  controlled  by  ours, 
and  perfectly  visible  to  everybody.  After  a  time  the  trumpet 
withdrew,  and  in  retiring  it  again  emitted  various  sounds 
several  times." 

At  a  seance  held  at  the  Minerva  Club,  IVIay  22,  igoo, 
and  attended  by  Professors  Morselli,  Porro,  and  a  number 
of  distinguished  men  and  women,  the  following  incident 
occurred : 

"The  control  was  more  strict  than  ever.  The  guitar  sus- 
pended on  the  wall  was  heard  to  move.  It  was  unfastened 
and  carried  in  the  air;  it  passed  round  the  table,  rapped  re- 
peatedly on  the  head  of  Professor  Porro,  and  finally  stopped 
on  the  table.  A  little  later  it  rose  to  the  height  of  more 
than  a  yard,  and  again  began  hovering  round  the  heads  of 
the  sitters  before  returning  to  the  table.  The  tambourine, 
which,  as  we  have  said,  was  placed  on  a  chair  in  the  cabinet, 
also  moved.  At  one  time  the  guitar  rose  up  again,  and 
moved  about  in  the  air  at  the  same  time  as  the  tambourine. 
This  time  the  guitar  went  very  high  up,  and  it  was  distinctly 
seen  crossing  the  room  at  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  curtain^ 
{more  than  ten  feet  from  the  floor)  followed  by  a  streak 
of  light,  due  probably  to  the  reflection  of  the  light  of  the 
candle  coming  from  the  anteroom  and  falling  on  the  back 
of  the  guitar  itself.  The  control  remained  very  strict.  Sud- 
denly a  bulky  object  was  heard  to  be  placed  on  the  table, 
and  by  the  dim  light  it  was  seen  to  come  from  the  corner 
of  the  room  to  the  left  of  the  medium.  Dr.  Venzano,  who 
was  at  the  end  of  the  table  farthest  from  the  medium,  was 


136 


Eusapla  Palladino 


able  to  see  this  bulk}'  object  rise  in  the  air,  from  the  left 
corner  of  the  room,  pass  over  the  head  of  Professor  Mor- 
selli  and  place  itself  on  the  large  table  in  front  of  him.  It 
was  found  that  this  object  was  the  large  No.  6  'Barlock' 
typewriter,  weighing  thirty  pounds.  Soon  afterwards  the 
seance  was  closed  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour." 

Three  days  later,  in  the  same  place,  the  following  incident 
took  place,  which  certainly  is  remarkable  in  character: 

"Suddenly  Professors  Morselli  and  Porro  perceived  that 
Eusapia  had  been  raised,  along  with  her  chair,  and  carried 
up  to  a  level  above  that  of  the  surface  of  the  table,  upon 
which  she  redescended  /;/  such  a  icay  that  her  feet  and  the 
two  front  legs  of  the  chair  rested  on  the  surface  of  the  table, 
which  was  partially  broken.  Meanwhile  the  medium 
moaned,  as  if  intensely  frightened,  and  asked  to  be  put  back 
with  her  chair  on  the  floor.  But  almost  instantly  she  was 
carried  up  again  with  the  chair,  and  this  levitation 
lasted  some  seconds,  so  that  M.  de  Albcrtis  and  Professor 
Porro,  without  preconcerted  arrangement  and  with  com- 
pletely simultaneous  thought,  succeeded  in  passing  their 
hands  under  the  feet  of  the  medium  and  of  the  chair.  Short- 
ly afterwards  Eusapia,  still  seated,  redescended  on  to  the 
table ;  she  was  held  by  those  to  right  and  left  of  her,  the  chair 
was  pushed  or  thrown  down  backward  on  to  the  floor ;  and 
the  medium,  seized  by  several  of  those  present,  while  still 
moaning  was  carried  to  the  floor  and  seated  again  in  her 
place." 

The  above  is  taken  from  the  report  made  at  the  time,  and 
we  are  glad  to  confirm  it  by  a  few  brief  remarks  from  Pro- 
fessor Porro,  in  which  this  distinguished  astronomer  clearly 
expresses  the  impressions  made  on  him  by  this  incident. 
Referring  to  the  levitation  of  Eusapia  along  with  her  chair, 
he  writes : 

"It  was  a  moment  of  great  anxiety  and  amazement.  The 
levitation  was  accomplished  without  blow  or  shaking,  swift- 


Eusapia  Palladino  137 

ly,  but  not  by  jerks.  In  other  words,  if  one  wished,  by 
dint  of  supreme  distrust,  to  imagine  that  this  result  had 
been  obtained  by  artifice,  one  should  have  to  suppose  a 
pull  from  above  (by  means  of  a  cord  and  a  pulley)  rather 
than  a  push  from  below.  But  neither  of  these  hypotheses 
will  :.tand  the  most  elementary  examination  of  the  facts. 
P.Jladino  was  actually  drawn  up  and  sustained  in  a  posi- 
tion absolutely  contrary  to  static  laws,  by  an  invisible 
force,  inexplicable  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge 
of  phj^sics." 

Professor  Lombroso,  in  his  interesting  book.  After  Death 
— Whatf  (pp.  69-70),  tells  the  following  incident  which 
occurred  at  one  seance  at  which  Professor  Morselll  was 
present.     He  sa3'S  in  part: 

"At  the  sitting  of  the  26th,  Morselli  having  taken  a  place 
in  the  chain,  Madame  Palladino  remarked  suddenly  that  she 
perceived  a  young  man  who  came  from  a  distance,  and,  after 
being  questioned,  specified  'from  Palermo' ;  and  afterwards 
said  'portrait  made  in  the  sun.'  Whereupon  Massaro  re- 
marked that  he  had  in  his  letter-case  a  photograph  of  his 
son  taken  out-of-doors  (in  the  country).  At  the  same  time 
he  was  aware  of  being  sharply  tapped  on  the  breast  at  the 
very  spot  where  he  had  that  picture  of  his  son,  and  felt  him- 
self kissed  twice  on  the  right  cheek  through  the  curtain  that 
hung  near  him ;  and  the  kisses  were  followed  by  very  arch 
caresses,  though  most  delicate  withal.  Then  all  of  a  sudden 
the  significant  touches  were  repeated,  but  this  time  by  a  hand 
that  insinuated  itself  with  eager  movements  into  the  inside 
pocket  of  the  coat  just  where  the  letter-case  was.  This  it 
opened  just  at  the  compartment  that  held  the  portrait.  Dur- 
ing the  second  appearance  caresses  and  kisses  were  held  back 
at  first;  then  he  felt  himself  seized  round  the  body,  drawn 
near  the  curtain,  and  repeatedly  kissed.  Finally  there  was 
projected  on  the  curtain  the  apparition  of  a  head  bound  with 
a  white  bandage — a  head  which  he  recognized  as  that  of  his 
son." 


138  Eusapia  Palladino 

The  materializations  generally  seen  at  Eusapia's  seances 
are  those  of  heads  and  faces,  and  very  rarely  does  the  full 
form  manifest — particularly  of  late  years.  Usually,  also, 
the  form  is  felt  through  the  curtain,  and  it  issues  from  be- 
hind their  shelter  and  advances  into  the  room  but  seldom. 
Nevertheless,  the  materializations  are  unmistakable.  The 
hands  and  faces  may  be  felt,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion 
they  have  been  grasped  and  found  to  melt  in  the  experi- 
menter's hands.  These  bodies,  which  appear  to  be  real 
human  beings,  or  at  least  parts  of  human  beings,  some- 
times show  themselves  directly,  and  have  the  consistency  of 
flesh.  Occasionally,  also,  the  medium  carries  the  sitters' 
hands  to  the  materialized  face,  and  allows  them  to  touch 
it,  both  behind  the  curtain  and  when  exposed.  Dr.  Ven- 
zano,  M.  Barzini,  Professor  Bottazzi,  and  others,  have  all 
asserted  that  these  hands,  if  grasped,  will  melt  away,  as 
did  the  so-called  spirit  hands  observed  by  Sir  William 
Crookes,  in  the  presence  of  D.  D.  Home. 

The  following  incidents  are  typical  of  the  materializa- 
tions that  occur  in  the  presence  of  Eusapia.  The  first  in- 
cident occurred  in  the  same  series  of  seances,  at  the  Minerva 
Club,  from  which  some  of  the  previous  incidents  have  been 
quoted,  and  is  taken  from  Dr.  Venzano's  original  report: 

"The  Cavaliere  Peretti  having  approached  the  curtain, 
he  felt  himself  suddenly  grasped  by  a  hand  which  gently 
pressed  his  own.  This  hand,  as  everyone  could  see,  came 
from  the  interior  of  the  cabinet,  keeping  itself  all  the  time 
covered  by  the  curtain,  and  its  form  was  distinctly  recogniz- 
able under  the  curtain.  This  unexpected  occurrence  excited 
the  curiosity  o:  those  present,  who,  in  turn,  offered  their 
hands  and  received  in  the  same  way  an  affectionate  pressure. 
Professor  Morselli,  for  the  second  time,  and  M.  Ferraro, 
who  until  then  had  stood  apart,  put  forward  their  hands  at  the 


Eusapia  Palladino  139 

same  moment,  but  the  desired  phenomenon  was  not  pro- 
duced again.  Dr.  Venzano  and  M.  Schmolz,  who  had  ap- 
proached the  medium  while  the  phenomenon  was  being  re- 
peated, were  able,  while  the  curtain  swelled  out,  to  turn 
their  attention  to  the  interior  of  the  cabinet,  which  was  en- 
tirely emptj^  except  for  the  chair  and  the  lump  of  clay,  while 
outside  could  be  seen  the  relief,  formed  in  the  texture  of 
the  curtain,  of  the  hand  which  grasped  those  of  the  sitters." 

At  a  later  series,  held  in  July,  1905,  at  the  house  of 
M.  Berisso,  the  following  incident  occurred,  and  is  reported 
by  M.  Berisso  thus: 

"At  a  certain  moment,  within  the  cabinet,  in  which  a 
bottle  full  of  water  and  a  glass  had  been  placed  on  a  chair, 
a  noise  was  heard,  evidently  caused  by  these  objects  being 
knocked  against  each  other.  Shortly  afterwards  we  heard 
the  sound  of  water  being  poured  from  the  bottle  into  the 
tumbler,  and  almost  at  once  the  curtain  was  shaken  and 
a  hand  covered  by  the  curtain  placed  the  glass  of  water  on 
the  table  in  front  of  Mme.  Palladino.  Meanwhile  the  left 
hand  of  Dr.  Venzano  and  the  right  hand  of  Mme.  Berisso 
were  distinctly  seen  on  the  table,  holding  the  hands  of  the 
medium.  As  soon  as  the  glass  had  been  placed  on  the  table, 
Eusapia  expressed  a  desire  to  drink.  We  did  not  think  it 
advisable  to  let  her  do  so,  knowing  by  long  experience  that 
this  might  result  in  nausea  and  vomiting.  She  persisted  in 
her  request  and  we  still  refused  it. 

"Eusapia  became  nervous  and  excited.  Suddenly  the  right 
side  of  the  curtain  s\\elled  out  and  partly  covered  the  fore- 
arm of  the  medium,  which  was  controlled  by  Dr.  Venzano. 
Shortly  afterwards  my  w^ife.  Dr.  Venzano,  and  I  distinctly 
saw  a  hand  and  an  arm  covered  by  a  dark  sleeve  issue  from 
the  front  and  upper  part  of  the  right  shoulder  of  the  me- 
dium. This  arm,  making  its  way  above  the  free  end  of  the 
side  of  the  curtain  which  was  on  the  table,  seized  the  glass 
and  carried  it  to  Eusapia's  mouth;  she  leaned  back  and  drank 
eagerly.    After  that  the  arm  replaced  the  glass  on  the  table, 


140  Eusapla  Palladino 

and  we  saw  it  withdraw  rapidly  and  disappear  as  if  it 
returned  into  the  shoulder  from  which  we  had  seen  it 
issue. 

"Dr.  Venzano,  who  did  not  let  the  smallest  detail  of  this 
phenomenon  escape  him,  asked  the  sitters  whether  they  also 
had  seen  the  arm,  which  seized  the  glass,  issue  from  Eusapia's 
shoulder.  My  wife  and  I  confirmed  this  fact.  M.  Bozzano, 
who  sat  at  the  end  of  the  table  opposite  to  that  at  which 
the  medium  was  seated,  affirmed  that,  for  his  part,  he  had 
seen  a  black  mass  detach  itself  from  Eusapia's  shoulder,  and 
shortly  afterwards  advance  under  the  side  of  the  curtain 
lying  on  the  table ;  the  arm  ended  in  a  hand  of  living  flesh 
which  seized  the  glass ;  he  was  at  once  seized  with  the  con- 
viction that  this  was  a  case  of  a  double,  and  he  was  about 
to  communicate  this  impression  to  those  present,  when  he 
was  prevented  by  the  exclamation  of  Dr.  Venzano.  Mile. 
Venzano  and  Dr.  Gellona,  on  account  of  the  position  which 
they  occupied,  were  not  able  to  observe  the  first  part  of  this 
phenomenon.  It  should  be  noted  that  during  the  period  of 
the  production  of  the  whole  of  this  phenomenon,  Eusapia's 
hands  were  under  control  and  did  not  cease  for  a  single 
moment  to  rest  on  the  table,  visible  to  everybody." 

The  next  report  is  taken  from  a  seance  which  occurred  on 
the  evening  of  December  27,  1901,  in  the  rooms  of  the  Miner- 
va Club.     I  quote  from  the  report: 

"At  this  moment  there  were  fresh  and  repeated  appear- 
ances of  a  child's  hand,  previously  mentioned,  above  the 
head  of  Eusapia.  It  was  a  little  hand,  evidently  a  right 
hand  of  the  color  of  pink  flesh,  with  tiny  fingers,  somewhat 
long  and  thin,  which  might  belong  to  a  child  of  seven  years 
old.  These  appearances  were  so  numerous  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  count  them.  The  little  hand  sometimes  showed 
the  palm,  sometimes  the  back.  At  times  it  was  seen  with 
the  tips  of  the  fingers  upward,  at  other  times  with  the  tips 
pointing  downward,  and  it  often  moved  with  a  gesture  of 
salutation.     Sometimes  it  remained  visible  for  a  very  short 


Eusapia  Palladino  141 

time,  sometimes  for  about  ten  seconds.  Dr.  Venzano  and 
M.  Vassallo,  who  was  seated  on  his  left,  got  up,  and  v.-ith- 
out  breaking  the  chain  of  the  control,  they  bent  toward  the 
curtain,  so  that  they  were  able  to  observe  it  at  a  distance  of 
a  few  inches  only.  Dr.  Venzano  expressed  a  desire  to  be 
touched  by  it,  and  almost  at  once  the  little  hand  approached, 
with  its  fingers  in  front,  and  stroked  his  cheeks  repeatedly, 
so  that  the  doctor  felt  the  warm  touch.  At  a  certain  mo- 
ment, the  little  hand  seized  his  nose  and  two  fingers  pulled 
it  gently,  then  took  the  lobe  of  his  right  ear  and  pressed  it 
with  a  certain  amount  of  force. 

"The  medium  was  awakened.  The  little  hand  retired, 
and  after  a  few  moments  it  reappeared  with  another  little 
hand,  the  latter  being  certainly  a  left  hand.  As  they  ap- 
peared, the  two  hands  parted  the  curtains,  then  disappeared 
and  reappeared  several  times.  The  phenomena  ceased  for 
about  a  minute,  during  which  M.  Vassallo  and  Dr.  Venzano 
sat  down  again.  Suddenly,  while  the  medium  continued 
awake,  and  kept  her  hands,  visible  to  everyone,  on  the  table 
and  under  strict  control  on  the  part  of  those  sitting  next 
to  her,  on  the  right  and  left,  the  curtain  sv/elled  out,  and  a 
hand  much  greater  in  bulk  and  in  dimensions  than  that  of  Eu- 
sapia, and  at  the  same  level  as  the  small  hands  previously 
described,  came  out  of  the  opening  between  the  two  cur- 
tains, seized  the  head  of  the  medium  and  drew  it  violently 
backward.  The  medium  alarmed,  tried  to  free  herself,  and 
began  to  crj^  out  for  help  to  the  sitters.  But  the  hand  did 
not  let  go  of  her  head  and  continued  to  drag  it  forcibly 
backward,  as  if  to  carry  it  into  the  cabinet.  At  a  certain 
moment  the  hand  withdrew  but  it  reappeared  almost  at 
once,  along  with  another  hand.  The  two  hands,  like  the 
former  ones,  by  the  disposition  of  their  thumbs,  were  mani- 
festly right  and  left  hands  and  by  the  identity^  of  their  char- 
acters seemed  to  belong  to  the  same  person,  this  time 
apparently  a  man.  While  Mme.  Palladino  cried  out  and  pro- 
tested, they  seized  her  on  both  sides  of  her  head,  and  con- 
tinued to  drag  it  backward  so  that  it  twice  disappeared  into 
the  cabinet  and  was  covered  by  the  curtain." 


1142  Eusapia  Palladino 

The  following  incidents  are  related  by  M.  Arnaldo  Vas- 
sallo,  in  his  work,  Nel  Mondo  delgi  Invisibili.  The  seances 
took  place  in  the  rooms  of  the  Minerva  Club,  in  December, 
1 90 1.     The  report  reads: 

"When  the  room  had  been  darkened,  M.  Vassallo  felt 
himself  seized  from  behind  by  two  arms,  which  embraced 
him  affectionately,  while  two  hands  with  long,  thin  fingers 
pressed  and  caressed  his  head.  Meanwhile  a  head,  ap- 
parently belonging  to  a  young  person,  approached  his  face 
and  kissed  him  repeatedly,  so  that  those  present  could  dis- 
tinctly hear  the  sound  of  the  kisses.  While  the  phenomenon 
was  being  produced,  the  head  of  Eusapia,  who  was  com- 
pletely entranced,  rested  on  the  right  shoulder  of  Mme. 
Ramorino. 

"M.  Vassallo  asked  the  name  of  the  entity  who  manifested, 
and  at  once  the  table  began  to  move,  and  gave  by  typtology 
the  word:  Romano.  M.  Vassallo  then  remarked  that  this 
was  one  of  the  three  names  of  his  only  son,  usually  called 
Naldino,  whom  he  had  lost  a  few  years  before,  when  he  was 
barely  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  added  that  this  name  was 
unknown  even  by  some  of  his  near  relatives. 

"He  continued  his  interrogations.  Having  asked  for  a 
proof  of  identity,  a  finger  passed  inside  his  jacket  and  rested 
against  his  inner  pocket,  in  which,  said  M.  Vassallo,  there 
was  a  pocketbook  containing  the  portrait  of  his  son. 

"M.  Vassallo  persisted  in  asking  for  more  complete  evi- 
dence and,  if  it  were  possible,  a  visible  manifestation.  The 
table  replied  affirmatively,  and  by  typtology  asked  that  semi- 
darkness  might  be  made,  which  was  done  by  placing  a 
lighted  candle  on  the  floor  of  the  anteroom  adjoining.  In 
this  way  a  very  feeble  light  was  produced,  but  sufficient  to 
make  it  possible  to  distinguish  the  faces  of  Mme.  Palladino 
and  the  experimenters.  Eusapia,  still  in  a  state  of  profound 
trance,  kept  her  head,  as  before,  resting  on  Mme.  Ramorino's 
shoulder.  Suddenly,  Dr.  Venzano,  who  was  seated  almost 
opposite  to  Mme.  Ramorino,  saw  a  vaporous  mass  rise  be- 
tween her  and  Eusapia ;  it  was  of  an  oblong  form,  gradually 


Eusapla  Palladino  143 

condensing  at  the  top  into  a  pear-shaped  formation  of  the 
size  of  a  human  head,  on  which  appeared  successively  a  very 
abundant  growth  of  hair,  and  the  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth  of 
a  human  face.  Dr.  Venzano,  in  order  to  assure  himself  of 
the  phenomenon,  got  up,  and  was  about  to  communicate 
his  impressions,  when  Cavaliere  Erba  and  Professor  Porro, 
who  were  beside  Mme.  Ramorino,  exclaimed  at  the  same 
time:  'A  profile,  a  profile!'  M.  Vassallo,  who,  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  apparition  of  a  materialized  form,  was  looking 
toward  the  back  of  the  room,  which,  on  account  of  the  light 
coming  from  the  anteroom,  was  somewhat  better  illumi- 
nated, turned  toward  the  cabinet  and  was  also  able  to  see  the 
head,  which  advanced  repeatedly  over  the  table  in  his  di- 
rection, and  then  dissolved.  The  small  white  electric  lamp 
was  lit  up.  Dr.  V^enzano  traced  with  a  pencil  on  a  piece  of 
paper  a  sketch  representing  the  form  he  had  seen,  and  at 
the  same  time  \l.  Vassallo,  who  was  very  clever  at  drawing, 
reproduced  with  much  accuracy  the  head  in  profile  of  his 
lost  son.  Then  he  showed  the  photograph  in  his  pocket- 
book  to  those  present.  The  points  of  resemblance  between 
the  face  which  appeared,  and  the  sketches  drawn  by  M.  Vas- 
sallo, and  Dr.  Venzano  and  the  portrait  in  M.  Varsallo's 
possession  were  then  recognized  with  lively  surprise.  In 
fact,  the  outlines  of  the  head,  and  its  pear-shaped  aspect, 
produced  by  the  verA'  abundant  hair  above  the  oval  face  with 
the  thinness  of  youth,  corresponded  marvelously.  M.  Ramor- 
ino, from  his  position  behind  Dr.  Venzano,  and  M.  Vassallo, 
both  standing,  and  consequently  shutting  out  his  view,  de- 
clared that  he  had  not  seen  the  apparition ;  also  Mme.  Ra- 
morino, seated  somewhat  on  one  side,  and  in  front  of  the 
apparition,  said  she  had  not  observed  it  either." 

The  second  incident  is  also  remarkably  interesting.  M.  Vas- 
sallo, after  being  touched  several  times  by  a  hand,  and  his  scarf 
pin  having  been  gently  removed  by  it,  felt  himself  suddenly 
seized  under  the  armpits  by  two  hands  which  lifted  him  up, 
obliged  him  to  stand  upright,  and  drew  him  about  two  paces 


144  Eusapia  Palladino 

from  the  circle  and  behind  his  own  chair.  That  is  to  say, 
more  than  a  yard  away  from  the  medium.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, M.  Vassallo,  in  order  not  to  lose  the  hand  of  the 
medium,  passed  it  from  his  right  hand  into  his  own  left 
hand,  in  contact  with  that  of  Dr.  Venzano — so  that  Eusa- 
pia, remaining  motionless,  was  under  the  vigilant  observa- 
tion of  three  controllers. 

"Then  M.  Vassallo  felt  a  human  body,  of  about  his  own 
height,  leaning  on  his  left  shoulder,  and  a  face,  which,  in  his 
opinion,  had  the  character  of  the  deceased  Naldino,  remained 
for  sometime  pressed  against  his  face.  He  then  received  re- 
peated kisses,  the  sound  of  which  everyone  could  hear;  and 
meanwhile,  broken  sentences  were  heard,  uttered  in  a  soft 
voice,  which  replied  to  the  repeated  questions  of  M.  Vas- 
sallo. Dr.  Venzano,  getting  up  without  abandoning  the 
control,  advanced  in  the  direction  of  the  voice,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  hearing  several  words  pronounced  in  the  Genoese 
dialect,  among  which  were  the  words:  'Caro  Papa.'  The 
conversation  betAveen  M.  Vassallo  and  the  entity  lasted  for 
sometime,  until  after  the  sound  of  a  kiss.  Dr.  Venzano  suc- 
ceeded in  catching  this  sentence :  'Questo  e  per  la  mamma.' 
(This  for  mamma.) 

"Almost  at  once  the  materialized  form  disappeared,  and 
the  table  requested,  by  raps,  that  the  light  might  be  raised. 
As  soon  as  the  white  electric  light  had  been  lit,  there  was 
seen  advancing  toward  M.  Vassallo,  who  was  still  standing 
up,  a  human  form  enveloped  in  the  curtain  of  the  cabinet, 
which  embraced  him,  while  a  hand,  also  covered  by  the  cur- 
tain, seized  that  of  M.  Vassallo  and  held  it  for  sometime. 

"The  medium  remained  all  the  time  motionless  in  the 
chair,  her  hands  in  contact  with  those  of  the  controllers." 

The  next  incident  is  quoted  from  the  minutes  of  the  sit- 
ting which  took  place  in  the  rooms  of  the  Minerva  Club, 
on  the  evening  of  December  29,  1900,  in  the  presence  of 


Mme.  Eiisapia  Pallaciiiio  seate*.!  at  our  Seance  table,  in  Italy. 
Beliiiid  lier  are  seen  the  black  curtains  of  tiie  cabinet;  to  herriglit, 
tlie'Ioci<ed  door  leading  to  Mr.  Baggally's  room.  Directly  in  front 
of  her  is  the  Seance  table,  and  beneath  it  is  the  small  stool,  referred 
to  on  several  occasions. 


Eusapia  Palladino  145 

Professors  Morselli,  Porro,  and  other  eminent  investigators. 
The  account  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

"Suddenly,  Dr.  Venzano,  who  held  the  medium  with  his 
left  hand,  she  resting  her  head,  visible  to  all,  on  the  shoulder 
of  Professor  Porro,  saw  forming  to  his  left,  at  about  a  hand's 
breadth  from  his  face,  as  it  were  a  globular,  vaporous,  whitish 
mass,  which  condensed  into  a  more  decided  form,  that  of  an 
oval,  which  gradually  assumed  the  aspect  of  a  human  head, 
of  which  the  nose,  the  eyes,  the  mustache,  and  the  pointed 
beard  could  be  distinctly  recognized.  This  form  came  and 
touched  his  face,  and  he  felt  a  warm  and  living  forehead 
press  against  his  own  and  remain  there  for  a  second  or  two. 
Then  he  felt  the  contact  of  the  whole  profile  of  the  face 
against  his  own,  with  a  pressure  as  of  a  caress,  then  the  im- 
print of  a  kiss,  after  which  the  mass  seemed  to  vanish  into 
vapor  near  the  curtains.  The  other  sitters,  meanwhile,  were 
only  aware  of  a  vague  luminosity  in  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Venzano;  but  they  distinctly  perceived  the  sound  of  the  kiss." 

Dr.  Venzano  asserts  that  the  vaporous  mass  which  con- 
densed into  the  form  of  a  human  face  came  into  direct  con- 
tact with  his  own  face,  shutting  out  his  sight  of  surrounding 
objects,  but  furnishing  forcible  evidence  through  tactual 
sensation.  He  recognized  in  the  face  an  extraordinary  re- 
semblance to  a  very  near  relative  whom  he  had  lost  some 
years  before.  This  relative  had  not  been  known  in  life  either 
to  Eusapia  or  to  any  of  the  sitters  present  at  the  seance. 

The  next  account  is  one  of  great  interest,  and  is  taken 
from  Dr.  Bozzano's  book,  Ipotesi  Spiritica  e  Theoriche 
Scientifiche.  The  seance  occurred  in  the  dwelling  of  M. 
Avellino,  June  16,  1901.  The  seance  is  recorded  by  M. 
Bozzano,  as  follows: 

"To  my  left  and  a  little  more  than  a  yard  away  there 
was  a  small  door,  through  the  opening  of  which  a  faint  light 


146  Eusapla  Palladino 

penetrated.  Suddenly  the  hands  of  'John,'  laying  hold  of 
my  temples,  forced  me  to  turn  my  head  in  that  direction. 
I  understood  that  the  action  was  done  with  a  purpose,  and 
I  redoubled  my  care  of  observation.  Very  soon  I  noticed, 
low  down,  something  like  a  kind  of  black  cone  with  uncer- 
tain, smoky,  and  changing  outlines.  It  seemed  as  if  this  little 
mass  gradually  condensing  in  front  of  me  were  animated, 
or  rather  convulsed  with  a  rapid  rotary  motion.  It  rapidly 
increased  in  size  and  length  until,  in  a  few  moments,  it 
attained  the  height  and  size  of  a  man.  Then,  in  less  time 
than  I  can  tell  it,  I  was  aware  that  this  form  had  assumed 
the  aspect  and  profile  of  a  human  being.  This  form  was 
not  more  than  two  paces  from  me.  My  companions  all 
noticed  that  the  light  from  the  doorway  was  unexpectedly 
and  almost  entirely  obscured.  Our  sensations  therefore  coin- 
cided and  supplemented  each  other. 

"Mme.  Palladino  at  this  point  raised  my  hand  and  carried 
it  in  the  direction  of  the  form.  Immediately  two  other 
hands  took  possession  of  mine,  and  carried  it  upward.  I 
then  felt  a  soft,  long  beard,  which  passed  and  repassed  over 
the  back  of  my  hand,  causing  a  tingling  sensation.  After 
this  my  fingers  were  caused  to  pass  over  the  features  of  a 
face.  /  was  thus  able  to  assure  myself  that  the  face  was  not 
that  of  'John.'  Eusapia  then  pulled  my  hand  sharply  toward 
herself.  A  moment  afterwards  the  same  figure  began  to 
advance  behind  my  back ;  at  the  same  time  the  gleam  from 
the  doorway  reappeared. 

"Almost  immediately  Dr.  Venzano  announced  that  a  hand 
had  taken  possession  of  his  own,  and  was  drawing  it  upward. 
Soon  aftervvards  we  all  heard  the  sound  of  a  sonorous  kiss 
above  his  head.  And  now  the  same  vent'  fine  and  long  beard 
began  to  brush  over  the  back  of  his  hand,  passing  backward 
and  forward.  The  impression  felt  by  Dr.  Venzano  was  suf- 
ficiently distinct  to  enable  him  to  declare  that  this  beard 
was  shaped  to  a  point.  Then  he  was  made  to  feel  the  hol- 
low of  a  mouth,  the  upper  jaw  of  which  had  some  teeth 
wanting  on  the  right  side. 

"At  this  point  Dr.   Venzano  remarked  that  these  signs 


Eusapia  Palladino  147 

corresponded  exactly  with  the  characteristics  of  a  very  near 
relative,  deceased." 

To  this  account  by  Dr.  Bozzano,  Dr.  Venzano  adds  some 
notes  of  his  own.     He  says: 

"When  my  hand,  guided  by  another  hand,  and  lifted  up- 
ward, met  the  materialized  form,  I  had  immediately  the 
impression  of  touching  a  broad  forehead,  on  the  upper  part 
of  which  was  a  quantity  of  rather  long,  thick,  and  very 
fine  hair.  Then,  as  my  hand  was  gradually  led  upward,  it 
came  in  contact  with  a  slightly  aquiline  nose,  and,  lower 
still,  with  mustaches  and  a  chin  with  a  peaked  beard.  From 
the  chin,  the  hand  was  then  raised  somewhat,  until,  coming 
in  front  of  the  open  mouth,  it  was  gently  pushed  forward, 
and  my  forefinger,  still  directed  by  the  guiding  hand,  en- 
tered the  cavit}^  of  the  mouth,  where  it  was  caused  to  rub 
against  the  margin  of  an  upper  dental  arch,  which,  toward 
the   right  extremity,  was  wanting  in  four  molar  teeth. 

"It  should  be  mentioned  that  when  my  hand  came  in  con- 
tact successively  with  the  lock  of  hair  on  the  forehead,  the 
nose,  and  the  chin  with  the  pointed  beard,  the  other  hand 
which  guided  it  pressed  upon  it  and  caused  it  to  stop  at  each 
with  manifest  purpose,  as  though  each  of  these  points  repre- 
sented a  special  sign.  I  must  note,  also,  that  on  comparing 
the  indications  obtained  with  those  typical  of  a  person  who 
was  very  dear  to  me,  I  did  not  remember  whether  the  four 
molars  were  absent  on  the  right  or  left  side,  and  that  later, 
after  making  special  inquiries  in  the  family,  I  was  able  to 
ascertain  that  this  defect  exactly  corresponded  with  the  con- 
ditions presented  by  the  materialized  form. 

"In  the  present  case,  the  problem  of  seeking  for  the  will 
which  directs  the  phenomena  is  of  very  great  complexity. 
It  must  be  remembered  that,  in  the  execution  of  this  mani- 
festation, tico  materialized  forms  took  part.  This  fact  be- 
comes evident  since,  without  the  control  of  the  medium  be- 
ing in  any  way  relaxed,  two  large  hands,  which  were  not 
his  own,  seized  M.  Bozzano's  head  and  forced  him  to  turn 
toward  the  far  end  of  the  room,  which  was  dimly  lighted, 


148  Eusapia  Palladino 

where  a  second  materialized  form  developed,  having  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  complete  figure  of  a  man. 

"As  for  the  materialized  form  which  presented  itself  to 
my  direct  observation,  offering  the  tokens  typical  of  a  de- 
ceased person,  who  was  dear  to  me,  I  can  affirm  that  it  was 
neither  thought  of  nor  expected  by  me.  Moreover,  as  I  at 
once  declared,  when  I  did  first  think  of  it,  I  certainly  did 
not  ask  for  proofs  of  identity  such  as  were  offered  me.  Then, 
too,  among  the  tokens  by  which  the  materialization  revealed 
its  identity,  it  chose  one  which  was  only  imperfectly  known 
to  me,  and  the  accuracy  of  which  I  could  only  ascertain 
after  making  inquiries  among  my  family.  Nor  could  I  have 
been  influenced  by  an  impression  received  from  what  had 
occurred  just  before  to  M.  Bozzano.  He  had  simply  men- 
tioned that  his  hand  had  been  carried  into  contact  with  a 
human  face,  with  a  pointed  beard — a  fact  which  had  been 
previously  mentioned  at  sittings,  and  was  insufficient  to  af- 
ford precise  data  for  the  identification  of  a  face.  Thus  the 
possibility  is  excluded  of  direct  suggestion  conveyed  to  Mme. 
Palladino  from  myself  or  from  the  other  sitters — to  whom, 
as  to  the  medium  herself,  the  person  who  manifested  himself 
to  me  was  entirely  unknown. 

"As  to  the  medium,  who  remained  during  the  whole 
seance  in  a  state  of  profound  trance,  the  only  act  of  hers 
which  might  be  suspected  of  being  done  with  a  purpose  was 
that  of  raising  M.  Bozzano's  hand  to  touch  the  human  face, 
on  which  he  recognized  nothing  characteristic  except  the 
pointed  beard. 

"In  the  face  of  these  conditions  what  conclusions  can 
one  deduce?  In  this  case  the  dilemma  referred  to  in  relation 
to  the  previous  case  repeats  itself.  '  Either  the  phenomenon 
is  produced  under  the  direction  of  an  intelligence  foreign  to 
the  medium  and  to  the  experimenters,  or  the  subconscious- 
ness of  Palladino  succeeded  in  bringing  forth  from  the  in- 
nermost recesses  of  my  thought  details  known  only  by 
myself  and  followed  up  this  work  of  mind-reading  by  a  lib- 
eration of  physiopsychic  energy  which  assumed  the  form  and 
the  character  of  two  human  beings,  one  of  whom  bore  the 


Eusapia  Palladino  149 

typical  traits  of  a  deceased  person  with  whom  I  was  very 
familiar  during  his  lifetime.  And  not  only  was  the  sub- 
consciousness of  the  medium  able  to  reveal  facts  which  I 
could  clearly  remember  but  also  circumstances  which  I  had 
doubtless  known  of  in  the  past,  but  which  I  had  in  large 
measure  forgotten  at  the  moment  when  the  phenomenon 
occurred.  I  allude  particularly  to  the  number  and  position 
of  the  teeth  found  wanting  at  the  extremity  of  the  upper 
jaw  of  the  mouth  of  the  face,  a  point  on  which,  as  I  after- 
wards found,  the  Intelligence  regulating  the  manifestation 
was  much  better  informed  than  1." 

The  last  seance  here  quoted  is  that  originally  published 
in  the  Revue  d' Etudes  Psychiques,  in  September,  1902. 
Professors  Morselli,  Bozzano,  and  a  number  of  noted  ladies 
and  gentlemen  were  present.  The  sitting  was  held  in  the 
house  of  the  Avellino  family.  The  cabinet  was  of  the  usual 
simple  kind — two  black  curtains  stretched  across  one  corner 
of  the  room.  Before  the  seance,  Mme.  Palladino  was  care- 
fully searched  by  two  ladies  present,  and  nothing  un- 
usual discovered  upon  her  person. 

Eusapia  was  then  bound  to  a  small  camp  bed  by  means 
of  ropes.  Her  wrists  were  fastened  to  the  iron  bars  at  the 
side;  next,  her  waist  was  fastened  likewise,  and  lastly  her 
feet  and  ankles.  Professor  Morselli  executed  the  tying  him- 
self, and  fastened  the  cords  in  a  number  of  knots  in  every 
case.  All  felt  that  the  tying  was  perfectly  secure,  and  all 
that  could  be  desired. 

Places  were  resumed  in  the  circle,  and  the  table  soon  be- 
gan to  move  about  of  its  own  accord.  Then  the  curtains 
of  the  cabinet  were  gently  parted,  and  the  head  and  shoulders 
of  a  young  woman  emerged.  She  bowed  several  times,  and 
ended  by  blowing  a  kiss  to  the  company — which  was  heard 
by  all  present. 


i^o  Eusapia  Palladino 

The  face  of  a  man,  with  large  head  and  strong  shoulders, 
then  made  its  appearance  between  the  curtains.  It  was  en- 
veloped in  white  drapery,  but  the  rosy  tint  of  its  skin  could 
be  distinctly  seen,  and  a  black  beard  was  visible  also.  It 
remained  visible  about  a  minute,  then  disappeared  behind  the 
cabinet  curtains. 

At  this  juncture  the  medium  began  calling  out  plaintive- 
ly that  the  ropes  were  hurting  her,  and  Professor  Morselli, 
going  into  the  cabinet,  found  her  securely  tied  as  at  first. 
He  unfastened  her  wrists,  leaving  her  still  tied  by  the  waist 
and  ankles,  and  resumed  his  seat. 

Several  forms  then  issued  from  the  cabinet,  in  turn;  but 
soon  plaintive  cries  were  again  heard  from  the  cabinet;  and 
Professor  Morselli,  entering  at  Eusapia's  request,  found  that 
the  tnedium  had  been  tied  afresh,  at  the  wrists,  and  fastened 
to  the  two  side  boards  of  the  bed,  by  means  of  many  turns 
of  cord,  which  terminated  in  knots  much  more  numerous 
and  tighter  than  those  which  were  made  by  Professor  Mor- 
selli at  the  beginning  of  the  seance. 

She  was  again  untied  and  several  more  forms  issued  from 
the  cabinet — one  that  of  a  young  woman  carrying  a  child, 
which  repeatedly  kissed  her.  Finally,  it  became  necessary 
to  untie  the  medium,  on  account  of  her  increasing  complaints. 
Her  breathing  was  difficult,  and  her  pulse  rapid  and  strong. 
She  appeared  to  be  tired  and  suffering.  It  is  of  interest  to 
note  in  this  connection  that  the  form  carrying  the  child  was 
recognized  to  be  the  host's  grandmother.  She  wore  a  pecu- 
liar lace  cap,  characteristic  of  her  in  life. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  and  striking  peculiarities  of 
the  seance  was  that  the  forms  remained  visible  for  some 
considerable  time  in  bright  gaslight — light  sufficiently  good, 
as  Professor  Morselli  ascertained,  to  read  a  newspaper  by. 


Eusapia  Palladino  151 

This  seems  to  show  us  that,  when  the  medium  is  genuine 
and  the  force  is  strong,  no  reasonable  amount  of  light  will 
impede  the  manifestations. 

Commenting  on  these  seances,  Dr.  Venzano  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  spiritistic  hypothesis  is  the  only  one 
capable  of  explaining  the  facts  in  a  reasonable  way.  He 
says : 

"In  the  greater  number  of  the  materialized  forms  per- 
ceived by  us  either  by  sight,  contact,  or  hearing,  we  were 
able  to  recognize  points  of  resemblance  to  deceased  persons, 
generally  our  rc4atives,  unknown  to  the  medium  and  known 
only  to  those  present  who  were  concerned  with  the  phe- 
nomena." 


CHAPTER    IV 

PERSONAL   EXPERIMENTS  WITH    EUSAPIA — NAPLES,    I908 

Bearing  in  mind  the  results  of  previous  investigators — 
particularly  the  reports  more  recently  issued  by  eminent 
scientific  men  in  Europe,  it  became  imperative  for  the  Society 
for  Psychical  Research,  in  spite  of  the  past  negative  results 
of  the  Cambridge  experiments,  to  reconsider  the  question  of 
Eusapia's  mediumship.  The  decision  was  reached  in  the 
following  way: 

In  October  and  November  of  1908,  I  found  myself  in 
London  on  other  business,  and  while  discussing  with  Miss 
Alice  Johnson  various  matters  connected  with  the  work  of 
the  S.  P.  R.,  and  my  desire  to  hold  seances  with  Eusapia 
Palladino,  she  suggested  that  it  might  be  desirable  for  me 
to  go  for  the  English  Society,  and  render  them  a  report  of 
the  phenomena  observed.  I  acquiesced  in  this,  and  said  I 
should  be  glad  to  go,  if  the  matter  could  be  arranged.  The 
Hon,  Everard  Feilding — second  son  of  Lord  Denbigh — 
Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Society,  who  had  previously  obtained 
seances  with  Eusapia  in  Paris,  said  that  he  would  be  glad 
to  go  also,  and  share  in  the  investigation.  The  matter  hav- 
ing been  decided,  we  left  London  on  different  days,  traveled 
by  different  routes,  and  met  in  Naples  on  the  afternoon  of 
November  ig,  1908. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  second  seance,  we  were  so  im- 
pressed by  the  phenomena  we  had  observed  that  we  wired  to 
England,  giving  the  officials  of  the  S.  P.  R.  a  brief  account 

15^ 


Eusapia  Palladino  153 

of  the  phenomena  witnessed,  and  asking  for  additional  help, 
in  order  the  more  successfully  to  control  the  medium.  We 
had  hoped  that  either  Mr.  Podmore  or  Miss  Alice  Johnson 
would  be  able  to  come,  but  in  this  we  were  disappointed, 
neither  of  them  being  able  to  leave  London  at  the  time,  but 
we  were  joined  after  the  fourth  seance  by  Mr.  W.  W. 
Baggally — a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  English  S.  P.  R., 
who  is  himself  an  expert  conjurer,  and  thoroughly  well  ac- 
quainted not  only  with  the  past  history  of  all  the  important 
mediums  since  Home,  but  with  their  methods  of  trickery. 
And  just  here  let  me  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  personnel  of 
the  three  investigators  {i.e.,  the  two  gentlemen  above  men- 
tioned and  myself)  who  formed  the  committee  of  inquiry 
for  these  seances. 

Mr.  Baggally,  as  I  have  said,  is  himself  an  amateur  con- 
jurer and  is  exceptionally  well  posted  on  all  the  tricks  and 
devices  resorted  to  by  fraudulent  mediums.  Most  of  them 
he  can  perform  himself.  He  has  been  constantly  investi- 
gating the  subject  for  more  than  thirty- five  years,  and  dur- 
ing all  this  time  he  had  never  witnessed  a  single  genuine 
physical  phenomenon — with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  a  few 
occurring  at  a  previous  seance  of  Eusapia's  which  he  had  at- 
tended some  years  before.  Throughout  his  investigations, 
he  had  invariably  detected  fraud  and  nothing  but  fraud.  I 
think  it  is  safe  to  say,  therefore,  that  a  man  of  his  caliber, 
armed  as  he  was  with  this  past  knowledge  of  medium's  his- 
tories, and  their  methods,  would  not  be  likely  to  be  taken  in 
by  a  few  simple  tricks,  such  as  the  substitution  of  hands  or 
feet,  which  Eusapia  occasionally  practises! 

Mr.  Feilding,  in  his  position  of  Honorary  Secretary  for 
the  Society,  is  constantly  investigating  cases  of  all  kinds,  and 
delights   especially    in    running   down    cases   of  poltergeists, 


154  Eusapia  Palladino 

physical  phenomena,  etc.  He  has  an  excellent  and  keen  judg- 
ment in  all  such  investigations.  He  has  been  engaged  in  this 
work  on  and  off  for  some  ten  years,  but  during  all  that  time 
he  had  never  seen  one  physical  phenomenon  which  appeared 
to  him  to  be  conclusively  proved — with  the  exception,  per- 
haps, of  certain  phenomena  which,  again,  had  occurred  in 
Eusapia's  presence,  at  a  previous  seance  attended  by  him 
in  Paris.  We  may  well  suppose,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Feild- 
ing,  also,  was  quite  enabled  to  detect  fraud,  had  such  existed, 
and  was  not  at  all  likely  to  be  taken  in  by  the  simple  process 
of  substitution  which  he,  in  common  with  all  of  us,  well 
knew  existed. 

As  for  myself,  I  can  but  say  that,  during  ten  years  con- 
tinued investigations  of  the  physical  phenomena  of  spirit- 
ualism, during  which  period  I  have  sat  many  score,  if  not 
hundreds  of  times,  with  mediums,  and  traveled  many  hun- 
dreds of  miles  in  order  to  see  genuine  physical  phenomena, 
if  such  existed — I  had  invariably  been  disappointed,  and  un- 
til I  had  attended  my  first  seance  with  Eusapia,  had  never 
seen  one  single  manifestation  of  the  physical  order  which 
I  could  consider  genuine.  On  the  contrary,  I  had  always 
detected  fraud,  and,  being  an  amateur  conjurer  myself,  was 
enabled  in  nearly  every  instance  to  detect  the  modus  operandi 
of  the  trick,  usually  the  first  time  I  saw  it.  In  my  Physical 
Phenomena  of  Spiritualisfn,  I  devoted  more  than  three  hun- 
dred pages  to  the  psychology  of  deception,  and  to  a  detailed 
exposure  of  the  tricks  and  devices  of  fraudulent  medium- 
ship.^ 

*  In  reviewing  my  book  for  the  Proceedings  of  the  English  S.  P.  R.,  Count 
Perovsky-Petrovo-Solovovo  said: 

Mr.  Carrington  seems  to  have  quite  an  extraordinary  knowledge  of  conjuring 
and  pseudo-mediumistic  tricks,  and  throughout  the  four  hundred  pages  of  his 
book  he  almost  unceasingly  opens  up  in  this  direction  such  vistas,  that  the 


Eusapia  Palladino  155 

Taking  it  all  in  all,  therefore,  we  felt  that  our  committee 
— composed  as  it  was  of  skeptical  investigators — and  of 
skeptics,  moreover,  who  were  particularly  qualified  to  ex- 
pose trickery  of  the  nature  usually  practised — wc  felt  that, 
if  trickery  were  practised  to  any  great  extent,  we  should  de- 
tect it;  and  I  think  the  detailed  reports  of  our  sittings  will 
indicate  that  we  took  all  due  precautions  to  guard  against 
substitution  of  hands  and  of  feet,  and  to  convince,  not  only 
ourselves,  but  the  outside  world  also,  that  her  hands  and 
feet  were  not  at  liberty  during  the  production  of  these  phe- 
nomena, and  that  they  were  not  produced  by  any  normal 
means.  This,  however,  the  reader  must  judge  for  himself, 
when  he  comes  to  the  records  of  the  seances. 

It  will  be  obvious  to  the  careful  student  of  the  preceding 
records  that  there  are  two  fundamentally  weak  points,  which, 
in  spite  of  the  evidential  value  of  some  of  the  sittings,  must 
be  said  to  weaken  them  tremendously  in  the  eyes  of  the  pub- 
lic. It  is  improbable  that  any  seances  will  be  held  in  the 
future  more  striking  than  some  of  those  already  held,  and 
yet,  in  spite  of  their  tremendously  strong  character,  it  is 
certain  that  they  have  failed  to  carry  conviction  to  all  care- 
ful students  of  the  reports — though  I  feel  they  should  have 
done  so — largely  because  of  these  two  weak  points.  They 
are  ( 1 )  that  the  amount  of  light,  on  any  one  occasion,  was 
not  as  a  rule  specifically  stated;  and  (2)  the  exact  position 
of  each  hand  and  each  foot  of  the  medium  was  not  fully  ac- 
counted for,  when  any  special  phenomenon  took  place.  Thus, 
it  is  quite  inadequate  to  say  that  "the  medium  was  securely 

uninitiated  reader's  breath  is  simply  taken  away.  ...  As  an  eiposcr  of  con- 
juring and  'mediumistic'  devices  he  in  my  opinion  stands  unsurpassed,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  volume  has  dealt  professional  mediumship  a  most 
sensible,  I  should  perhaps  say  a  crushing,  blow." 


156  Eusapia  Palladino 

held,"  or  that  "there  was  no  possibility  of  trickery"  on  any 
special  occasion — when  remarkable  phenomena  were  in 
progress.  We  want  to  know  just  how  and  where  each  hand 
and  each  foot  was  during  that  crucial  moment;  who  was 
holding  it,  and  how.  In  other  words,  as  I  have  pointed  out 
before,  we  do  not  want  the  investigator's  opinion  that  such 
and  such  a  phenomenon  was  genuine ;  we  want  the  facts  and 
the  data  which  will  allow  us  to  form  our  own  opinions  as 
to  whether  the  normal  production  of  the  phenomenon  was  pos- 
sible or  not.  It  is  inconclusive  to  say  that  an  object  "at  some 
distance  from  the  medium"  moved  of  its  own  accord.  What 
we  want  to  know  is  exactly  how  many  feet  and  inches  away 
the  object  was;  and,  having  these  facts  before  us,  we  should 
be  in  a  position  to  know  or  judge  whether  it  was  impossible 
for  the  object  to  have  been  moved  or  not.  This  judgment 
may  be  wrong.  We  may  conclude  that  it  was  possible  for 
the  medium  to  have  moved  the  object,  whereas,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  it  was  not  possible,  and  this  might  have  been  obvious 
to  the  members  of  the  circle.  But  so  long  as  the  printed 
evidence  does  not  prove  its  impossibility,  the  skeptical  world 
will  never  be  convinced.  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that 
every  impartial  investigator,  who  sits  with  Eusapia,  becomes 
convinced  of  the  reality  of  at  least  some  of  the  phenomena; 
but  all  the  world  cannot  obtain  personal  sittings.  They 
must  judge  by  the  printed  reports;  and  so  long  as  that  is 
the  case,  the  reports  of  the  sittings  must  be  made  to  read 
convincingly.  And  in  order  to  read  convincingly,  it  is  neces- 
sary, first  and  foremost,  to  have  a  strict  account  of  the  exact 
position  of  each  hand  and  foot  of  Eusapia,  during  each 
minute  of  the  seance — certainly  at  the  moment  when  any 
important  occurrence  is  happening.  Such  a  record  can  only 
be  made  by  keeping  an  exact  stenographic  account  of  the 


Eusapla  Palladino  157 

position  of  the  hands  and  feet ;  and  this  must  be  made  during 
the  sitting — while  it  is  actually  in  progress — and  it  is  useless 
for  evidential  purposes  to  attempt  this  account  after  the 
seance  has  terminated.  A  precise  contemporary  record  is 
therefore  necessary — giving  these  exact  details  from  moment 
to  moment. 

Feeling  the  force  of  these  arguments  strongly,  then,  we 
determined  that  our  seances  should  not  be  vitiated  by  the 
same  weaknesses  that  had  impaired  those  of  our  predecessors 
in  this  field,  and  we  accordingly  organized  our  control,  and 
the  manner  of  dictating  it.  We  arranged  a  series  of  lights 
of  varying  intensities,  in  the  center  of  the  room,  and  de- 
scribed exactly  what  we  could  see  in  each  case.  This  will 
be  found  described  in  detail  in  the  sittings.  We  also  dic- 
tated to  the  stenographer,  sitting  at  another  table,  the  exact 
position  of  each  hand  and  each  foot  during  the  production  of 
every  phenomenon.^  This  will  also  be  found  in  the  record  of 
sittings.  It  will  be  seen  tliat  this  method  of  accounting  for 
each  hand  and  each  foot  precluded  all  possibility  of  decep- 
tion ;  since,  if  both  hands  and  both  feet  are  accounted  for, 
it  is  obvious  that  the  medium  could  not  have  produced  any 
of  the  observed  phenomena — unless  some  third  hand  pro- 
duced them — or  some  means  equally  supernormal. 

Our  own  seances  at  Naples  were  held  in  the  middle  room 
of  our  suite  at  the  Hotel  Victoria.  The  three  members  of 
the  commiittee  occupied  three  adjoining  rooms — Mr.  Baggally 
the  one  on  the  extreme  left,  Mr.  Feilding  the  one  in  the 
middle,  myself  the  room  on  the  extreme  right.  These  three 
rooms  were  all  connected  by  double  doors,  which  were  usually 

*  The  extracts  that  follow  are  all  drawn  from  our  official  Report  on  Eusapia 
Palladino^s  mediumship,  which  appeared  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  English 
Society  for  Ps^fchical  Research,  Vol,  XXIII,  Part  LIX. 


1^8  Eusapia  Palladino 

left  open,  but  were  closed  during  the  seance.  All  these 
doors,  particularly  those  leading  into  the  public  hall,  were 
securely  locked  and  bolted  before  each  seance,  and  we  tied 
the  door  handles  together  by  means  of  white  tape,  when  the 
doors  could  not  be  bolted  from  the  inside.  The  windows, 
one  in  each  room,  led  on  to  a  small  balcony,  which  looked 
on  to  the  street,  five  flights  below.  These  small  balconies 
were  not  connected,  and  it  would  have  been  an  utter  im- 
possibility for  anyone  to  have  climbed  from  one  room  to 
another,  and  so  into  the  seance  room  through  the  window. 
The  windows  were,  moreover,  closed,  bolted,  and  shuttered. 
I  need  scarcely  add  that  we  made  a  careful  examination  of 
the  cabinet,  the  instruments,  the  table,  and  seance  room 
before  and  after  each  sitting.  The  instruments  used 
were  in  all  cases  our  own,  bought  by  us  at  various  shops 
in  Naples. 

We  constructed  a  cabinet  by  hanging  two  light,  black 
curtains  across  one  corner  of  the  room,  forming  a  triangular 
space  about  three  feet  deep — the  curtains  extending  up  seven 
or  eight  feet  from  the  floor.  Directly  in  front  of  the  open- 
ing in  the  curtains  we  placed  Eusapia's  chair,  and  again  in 
front  of  her,  the  seance  table.  The  controllers  occupied 
positions  on  either  side  of  the  table,  as  close  to  Eusapia  as 
possible. 

The  walls  and  the  floor  of  the  seance  room  were  of  stone 
and  plaster,  no  wood  being  used  in  their  construction.  This 
caused  us  some  annoyance,  since  when,  later  on,  we  desired 
to  fasten  the  small  table  to  the  floor  by  means  of  staples, 
we  found  it  extremely  difficult  to  do  so,  and  had  to  drive 
these  into  the  woodwork,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the  door  lead- 
ing from  one  room  into  the  other,  and  on  the  other  side, 
into  the  window  frame! 


Eusapia  Palladino 


159 


SEANCE"    TABLE 


B'i  koor^ 


C's  Room 


3TENOGRAPHE«i 
"ABLE 


DOOR 
E-P.    -        E:U'jAP1A*>        POMTlCM 

AB  —     conx»cn.x£Ri 


And  now  as  to  the  control  of  Eusap!a's  hands  and  feet. 
It  is  obvious  that  it  is  desirable  to  encircle  the  n'hole  of  the 
medium's  hands,  whenever  possible,  and  it  is  hard  for  the 
absent  critic  to  see  why  this  should  not  be  done.  Before 
we  had  our  own  seances,  we  could  not  see  why  previous 
sitters  had  not  insisted  on  this  more  strongly  than  they  ap- 
peared to  have  done.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  Eusapia 
herself  has  a  good  deal  to  say  as  to  the  manner  m  which  her 
hands  shall  be  held,  and  her  feet  also.  We  do  not  mean 
by  this  that  she  always  insists  on  her  hands  being  held  in 


i6o  Eusapia  Palladino 

such  a  manner  that  substitution  is  thereby  rendered  possible, 
for  she  would  allow  one  of  her  hands  to  be  held  in  her  lap 
and  the  other  on  the  table.  She  does,  however,  frequently 
object  to  a  complete  and  rigid  encircling  of  her  hands  by 
those  of  the  sitter,  and,  in  reply  to  our  protest,  explained  to 
us  first,  that  if  the  hands  of  the  sitter  are  moist  or  clammy, 
she  cannot  bear  them  to  touch  her  during  the  trance  state — 
though  she  does  not  particularly  object  to  this  when  she  is 
normal,  and  secondly  that  the  backs  of  both  her  hands,  and 
the  insteps  of  both  her  feet  (especially  the  left  hand  and 
left  foot)  become  extremely  hyperaesthetic  during  the  condi- 
tion of  semitrance  when  the  slightest  pressure  occasions  her 
acute  discomfort.  We  have  frequently  seen  Eusapia  wince 
under  a  pressure  of  the  hand  that  would  not  affect  her  in 
the  least  in  the  normal  state;  and  we  came  ultimately  to  the 
conclusion  that  this  hyperassthesia  is  genuine,  and  is  not  mere 
affectation,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  hand  free  to  pro- 
duce phenomena.  One  may  hold  the  hand  and  wrist  as 
firmly  as  one  likes,  provided  the  tender  spots  are  not  touched, 
and  she  does  not  object  in  the  least.  It  is  for  this  reason, 
therefore,  that  the  entire  hand  of  Eusapia  is  not  completely 
encircled  by  the  hands  of  the  controllers  more  often  than 
it  is ;  but  the  control  is  generally  quite  as  good  as  if  it  were — 
while,  when  her  two  hands  are  situated  far  from  one  ai.- 
other,  on  different  corners  of  the  table,  or  one  on  the  table 
and  the  other  in  her  lap,  it  must  obviously  be  regarded  as 
quite  secure. 

We  may  state,  then,  that,  save  on  a  few  occasions,  which 
will  be  found  described  fully  in  the  shorthand  notes,  the  con- 
trol of  the  medium's  hands  and  feet  (and  particularly  of  her 
hands)  was  a  far  easier  matter  than  we  had  anticipated. 
During  the  greater  part  of  many  of  the  sittings,  there  was 


Eusapia  Palladino  i6i 

so  much  light  that  we  could  clearly  see  both  her  hands  on 
the  table  before  us;  and  as  at  such  times  it  was  perfectly 
easy  to  follow  every  movement  of  them,  we  ourselves  should 
have  been  content  not  to  hold  them  at  all.  But  for  the  sake 
of  the  public,  and  in  order  to  be  able  to  say  that  we  had 
done  so,  we  carefully  controlled  each  hand,  nevertheless,  and 
recorded  this  control,  as  will  be  found  in  the  notes.  When 
it  is  light  enough  to  see  both  the  medium's  hands  on  the 
table  in  front  of  you,  it  is  useless  and  childish  to  talk  of  sub- 
stitution— it  would  be  just  as  obvious  as  a  substitution  prac- 
ticed by  a  friend  in  the  course  of  ordinary  conversation.  And 
all  the  best  phenomena  during  the  first  two  seances  took 
place  in  a  light  sufficiently  good  to  see  clearly  every  move- 
ment of  the  medium,  and  not  only  that,  to  see  the  very  tex- 
ture of  the  skin  of  her  hands,  the  color  of  her  finger  nails, 
etc.  Under  such  circumstances  it  would  be  absurd,  we  felt, 
to  talk  of  substitution,  which  only  becomes  possible  when 
the  light  had  been  so  far  lowered  that  the  hands  became  in- 
visible to  us.  Throughout  our  sittings  this  very  rarely  hap- 
pened. All  our  best  phenomena  took  place  in  what  might 
be  called  good  light — light  sufficiently  good,  that  is,  to  enable 
us  to  see  the  whole  of  the  medium's  body,  and  to  see  that 
she  did  not  produce  the  movements  herself. 

Even  when  Eusapia's  hands  rested  on  ours,  it  was  an  easy 
matter,  as  a  rule,  to  feel  which  hand  was  on  ours.  Except 
when  Eusapia  was  preparing  to  effect  a  substitution  of  hands 
(at  which  times  her  control  became  very  furtive  and  un- 
certain), her  hands  rested  on  ours  quietly  throughout;  and  we 
could  feel,  from  the  relative  position  of  the  thumb  and 
fingers,  which  hand  we  were  holding.  When  the  controlling 
hand  slipped  down  so  that  only  a  portion  of  the  hand  would 
be  felt  {e.g.,  only  the  fingers),  then  we  would  immediately 


i62  Eusapia  Palladino 

move  our  hand  about  in  such  a  way  that  Eusapia  was  forced 
to  cover  our  hand  with  the  whole  of  hers.  This  served  the 
double  purpose  of  showing  us  which  hand  we  were  holding, 
and  also  of  proving  that  the  hand  covering  ours  was  a  real 
hand  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  not  a  mere  dummy.  When  we 
moved  our  hands  in  this  manner,  calling  for  completer  con- 
trol, the  hand  covering  ours  would  invariably  and  at  once 
react  in  a  perfectly  natural  manner;  would  grip  our  hand, 
move  the  fingers,  change  its  position,  etc.,  as  only  a  natural 
hand  could  do.  Moreover,  the  hand  was  warm  and  life- 
like, and  we  could  feel  the  texture  of  the  skin.  At  no  time 
was  there  the  slightest  doubt  in  our  minds  that  the  hand 
we  were  holding  was  really  a  human  hand ;  the  only  objec- 
tion was  that  we  were  not  always  holding  enough  of  the  hand. 
The  portion  that  we  were  holding  was  doubtless  the  hand  of 
Eusapia. 

I  should  like  to  dwell  upon  this  point  at  some  length, 
for  the  reason  that,  in  some  of  our  experiments,  phenomena 
took  place  when  both  hands  and  both  feet  were  certainly 
accounted  for  and  stated  as  being  held  securely.  Such  being 
the  case,  it  becomes  obvious  that  the  phenomena  must  be 
accepted  as  genuine,  unless  she  managed  to  substitute  a  dum- 
my hand  for  one  of  her  own  that  we  were  holding.  To  us, 
the  suggestion  appears  absurd,  and  we  are  absolutely  posi- 
tive that  nothing  of  the  sort  took  place,  but  it  is  necessary 
to  state  the  precautions  we  took  at  the  time  to  ascertain  that 
they  were  really  flesh  and  blood  hands  we  were  holding,  so 
that  these  precautions  might  be  stated  in  the  report. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  we  had  the  testimony  of  our  eyes, 
for,  as  we  have  repeatedly  pointed  out,  during  the  greater 
part  of  almost  every  seance,  it  was  quite  light  enough  for 
us  to  see  that  the  hands  we  were  holding  were  really  Eusa- 


Eusapia  Palladino  163 

pia's,  and  were  connected  with  her  body.  This  only  became 
questionable  when  the  light  was  so  far  reduced  as  to  render 
this  direct  observation  impossible — a  very  small  fraction  of 
the  time.  On  such  occasions,  we  traced  the  connection  of 
the  hand  we  were  holding  with  the  medium's  body,  and  found 
that  it  invariably  joined  her  body  at  the  shoulder.  We  also 
moved  the  hand  about  to  see  if  there  was  any  resistance  such 
as  would  be  offered  by  the  arm,  for  it  must  be  remembered 
that  if  Eusapia  had  substituted  a  dummy  hand  for  one  of  her 
own,  and  we  had  suddenly  jerked  away  the  hand  we  were 
holding,  we  should  have  jerked  away  the  hand  altogether,  and 
we  might  have  removed  this  dummy  a  yard  or  more  away 
from  Eusapia's  body.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  we  found 
that  the  hand  always  resisted  us,  and  so  was  connected  with 
Eusapia's  body  in  some  manner. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  we  had  the  testimony  of  our  sense 
of  touch.  As  I  have  said  before,  we  could  always  feel  dis- 
tinctly that  the  hand  we  were  holding  was  a  natural,  human 
hand,  and  not  a  mere  dummy.  It  was  warm,  and  moist,  and 
kept  moving  its  fingers,  and  responding  to  our  pressures  and 
movements  as  only  a  natural  hand  could.  When,  further,  we 
take  into  account  the  fact  that  all  this  only  applies  to  those 
portions  of  the  seance  when  the  hands  were  not  visible  to  us 
(and  these  portions  were  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  whole), 
we  feel  quite  safe  in  saying  that  wc  regard  it  as  proved  be- 
yond doubt  that  the  hands  held  by  us  at  these  sittings  were 
real  hands  in  every  case,  and  not  mere  dummies. 

Again,  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  hands.  In  a  large  num- 
ber of  cases,  it  is  true,  both  the  m.edium's  hands  were  on 
the  surface  of  the  table,  and  on  some  of  these  occasions,  the 
medium  was  holding  the  hand  of  one  sitter,  and  was  held  by 
the  sitter  on  the  other  side — that  is,  in   the  position  most 


164  Eusapia  Palladino 

favorable  for  substitution.  I  am  practically  certain,  how- 
ever, that  substitution  did  not  take  place,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
at  any  time,  save  on  those  occasions  mentioned  in  the  short- 
hand notes.  On  the  two  occasions  when  Eusapia  attempted 
this  (because  the  force  was  weak,  or  for  some  other  reason 
best  known  to  herself)  we  immediately  detected  this  substi- 
tution, and  even  knew  that  it  was  going  to  take  place  before 
it  actually  did  so.  We  could  tell  that  Eusapia  was  gradually 
working  our  hands  nearer  and  nearer  together,  and  finally, 
when,  at  an  opportune  moment,  she  effected  the  substitution. 
But  we  had  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  at  once  detecting 
this,  and  the  resulting  phenomena,  produced  by  fraudulent 
means,  were  also  strikingly  different  from  the  genuine  on 
both  occasions.  It  struck  us  at  the  time  that  it  would  be 
quite  impossible  to  mistake  the  one  for  the  other — the  gen- 
uine for  the  fraudulent.  The  character  of  the  phenomenon 
was  entirely  different,  and  could  not  be  confounded.  To 
us,  these  very  facts  were  perhaps  the  strongest  argument  for 
the  genuineness  of  the  phenomena  that  we  could  conceive. 
The  fact  that  fraud  was  immediately  detected  when  it  was 
attempted,  and  that  the  resulting  phenomena  appeared  to 
us  to  be  entirely  different  in  character  from  the  genuine,  were 
very  strong  arguments  for  thinking  that  the  genuine  phe- 
nomena were  such  in  reality ;  and  further  assured  us  that  we 
should  easily  have  detected  other  fraudulent  manifestations, 
had  they  been  attempted. 

But  during  the  greater  part  of  all  our  seances,  the  hands 
were  held  in  such  a  manner  that  substitution  would  have 
been  impossible.  In  the  first  place,  the  light  was  generally 
sufficient  to  allow  us  to  clearly  see  the  two  hands  of  the 
medium  resting  on  the  table ;  and  we  did  not  have  to  depend 
upon  our  holding  entirely  or  even  primarily.     A  large  part 


Eusapia  Palladino  i6^ 

of  the  time  we  should  have  been  content  to  have  no  control 
at  all,  so  clear  were  Eusapia's  hands ;  and  we  only  paid  such 
close  attention  to  the  control  and  dictated  it  so  carefully  in 
order  that  it  might  appear  in  the  shorthand  accounts  of  the 
sittings  that  we  had  done  so.  During  a  large  part  of  each 
sitting,  we  held  one  of  the  medium's  hands  in  her  lap  and  the 
other  on  the  table,  e.g.,  or  one  hand  on  each  corner  of  the 
table;  or  held  the  hands  in  the  air;  and,  on  two  occasions, 
I  held  both  the  medium's  hands  in  both  of  mine,  while  touches 
on  my  left  side  took  place.  During  these  touches  the  me- 
dium's head  was  clearly  visible  to  us  all,  and  her  feet  re- 
mained tied  to  the  sitters'  chairs  on  either  side  of  her. 
Hardly  for  a  second  throughout  the  whole  course  of  the  sit- 
tings was  the  medium's  head  invisible  to  us,  i.e.,  the  control- 
lers on  either  side  of  her. 

Now  a  few  words  as  to  the  control  of  the  feet.  As  we 
have  said  before,  Eusapia  is  extremely  hyperssthetic  about 
the  control  of  her  feet,  and  one  cannot  control  them  in  the 
way  one  would  like.  This  is  especially  so  with  the  left  foot, 
as  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  detailed  notes.  Of  course 
the  obvious  deduction  to  be  drawn  from  this  fact  is  that 
Eusapia  attempted  to  force  us  to  relax  our  control  of  her 
feet,  so  that  she  might  thereby  release  them  the  more  easily. 
But  we  are  quite  assured  that  this  is  not  the  case.  During 
the  levitations  of  the  table,  and  during  some  of  the  best 
phenomena  that  took  place  (for  the  production  of  which  her 
feet  might  have  been  employed),  the  control  of  her  feet  was 
practically  perfect.  On  some  occasions  one  of  us  was  under 
the  table  holding  both  her  feet  in  his  two  hands;  at  other 
times  her  feet  and  legs  were  tied  to  the  legs  of  her  chair,  or 
to  the  chairs  of  the  two  controllers  on  cither  side  of  her ;  on 
yet  other  occasions  the   "stocks"   apparatus  effectually  pre- 


i66  Eusapia  Palladino 

vented  her  from  using  her  feet  for  the  production  of  spurious 
phenomena;  at  other  times,  the  light  was  sufficiently  good 
for  us  to  see  both  her  feet;  while  on  all  occasions,  we  could 
clearly  feel  the  medium's  foot  pressing  on  ours,  on  the  ex- 
treme opposite  sides  of  the  table,  and  at  a  sufficiently  great 
distance  from  each  other  to  effectually  prevent  any  substi- 
tution. We  frequently  verified  the  control  of  the  feet  with 
our  hands,  and  in  other  ways  assured  ourselves  that  her  feet 
were  really  pressing  on  ours,  and  that  the  feet  were  really 
Eusapia's.  At  the  very  moment  of  the  production  of  the  phe- 
nomena we  were  especially  careful  to  observe  the  control,  and 
generally  all  but  disregarded  the  phenomena  in  our  attempt 
to  verify  the  absoluteness  of  the  control. 

For  all  of  these  reasons,  then  (largely  because  Eusapia's 
hands  and  feet  were  kept  so  widely  separated,  were  visible  as 
well  as  tangible,  and  were  perfectly  passive  in  our  grasp), 
I  consider  the  hypothesis  of  substitution  as  absolutely  ex- 
cluded throughout  our  seances — except  on  those  few  occa- 
sions where  our  control  was  relaxed,  and  Eusapia  attempted 
substitution.  On  these  occasions,  we  at  once  informed  Eusa- 
pia that  the  control  was  not  good,  and  she  immediately  ad- 
mitted that  it  was  not,  and  replaced  her  hand  under  the 
safe  keeping  in  one  of  ours.  The  psychology  of  this  fraud 
will  be  found  discussed  at  some  length  on  pp.  327-28,  335. 

During  the  levitations  of  the  table,  we  tried  every  device 
to  check  the  results  by  making  the  control  as  rigid  as  possible. 
Frequently,  we  lifted  the  medium's  hands  above  the  table  a 
foot  or  more  while  the  levitation  was  in  progress,  and  saw 
that  there  was  no  connection  between  her  hands  and  the 
table.  When  her  hands  remained  on  the  surface  of  the 
table,  we  often  passed  our  hands  under  her  hands,  and  es- 
pecially under  her  wrists,  to  see  that  she  was  inserting  notii- 


Eusapia  Palladino  167 

ing  beneath  the  edge  of  the  table.  We  would  also  pass  our 
hands  between  her  body  and  the  table,  and  hold  her  head 
well  away  from  the  table — precautions  which  the  amount 
of  light  really  rendered  unnecessary,  but  which  we  did  in 
order  that  we  might  say  that  we  had  done  so.  We  ascer- 
tained that  her  skirt  was  not  touching  the  legs  of  the  table 
by  passing  our  hands  between  the  table  and  the  skirt;  we 
frequently  pressed  heavily  upon  her  two  knees  with  our  hands 
and  arms ;  we  controlled  her  feet  with  ours,  and  on  several  oc- 
casions placed  a  night  light  under  the  table,  to  be  better 
enabled  to  see  her  feet  and  legs.  We  tied  her  legs  to  the 
chair  with  rope;  finally  we  got  under  the  table  and  held 
her  ankles  in  our  hands.  In  spite  of  all  these  precautions, 
however,  the  table  continued  to  rise  up  into  the  air  without 
visible  means  of  support.  Accordingly,  we  devised  the 
"stocks"  apparatus  (which  will  be  found  fully  described  in 
the  notes),  in  order  to  check,  mechanically,  our  observations, 
and  render  impossible  the  use  of  the  medium's  feet  for  pur- 
poses of  levitation  by  fraudulent  means.  Even  after  the  in- 
troduction of  this  apparatus,  and  the  additional  precautions 
followed  by  us  after  its  use,  we  still  obtained  levitations;  and 
we  were  consequently  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  these  levi- 
tations of  the  table  were  not  produced  by  Eusapia,  but  were 
the  result  of  some  force  or  forces  as  yet  unknown. 

Throughout  our  sittings,  we  never  lost  sight  of  one  primary 
fact,  viz.,  that  our  object  was  to  establish  the  facts,  and  not 
to  theorize  about  them.  Our  sole  object  was  to  ascertain 
that  certain  phenomena  took  place,  and  that  they  were  not 
produced  by  Eusapia  herself  by  normal  means;  and  we  did 
not  care  to  speculate  on  the  nature  of  the  force  displayed, 
but  merely  to  establish  its  reality.  Of  course  we  could  not 
help  commenting  on  the  nature  of  the  force  at  the  time ;  but 


i68  Eusapia  Palladino 

such  speculations  we  carefully  kept  out  of  the  report.  Va- 
rious theories  have  been  advanced  in  the  past,  from  time  to 
time,  to  explain  these  facts,  but  none  of  them  can  be  regarded 
as  satisfactory,  and  none  of  them  really  explain  all  the  facts. 
Let  the  facts  once  gain  general  acceptance,  and  the  theories 
will  come  in  due 

SEANCE  I 

Our  first  seance  was  held  on  November  21,  1908,  F.  and 
C.  only  being  present.  M.,  the  stenographer,  was  seated 
at  a  separate  table  in  the  next  room.  We  dictated  at  first 
through  the  partially  opened  doors.  The  seance  commenced 
at  10.35  P-M.,  in  good  light.  A  sixteen-candle  power  elec- 
tric lamp,  covered  by  three  thicknesses  of  thin,  brown  tissue 
paper,  hung  from  the  ceiling.  We  could  clearly  read  the 
small  print  of  a  Baedeker.  For  the  first  half  hour,  little  took 
place,  except  tilts  of  the  table,  which  had  very  little  eviden- 
tial value.  Owing  to  our  inexperience,  moreover,  at  dic- 
tating notes,  these  appeared  to  us  totally  inadequate,  when 
re-reading  the  seance  next  day,  and  we  accordingly  omitted 
accounts  of  all  phenomena,  up  to  11. 04,  when  our  first  com- 
plete levitation  took  place.^ 

Our  shorthand  account  of  this  seance  reads  in  part  as 
follows : 

"11.04  P-M.  The  table  tilts  toward  C.  Then  a  com- 
plete levitation  follows,  both  medium's  hands  being  on  the 
table,  and  both  clearly  visible. 

^  By  "'complete  levitation"  we  mean  the  lifting  of  the  table  off  all  four 
legs  simultaneously.  A  levitation  of  this  kind  is  seldom  less  than  six  inches 
off  the  ground,  and  frequently  a  foot  or  more.  By  "partial  levitation"  we  mean 
the  raising  of  the  table  on  two,  and  sometimes  onto  only  one,  leg.  In  complete 
levitations  the  table  generally  went  up  horizontally,  sometimes  momentarily 
but  occasionally  lasting  several  seconds.  A  partial  levitation  would  often  turn 
into  a  complete  levitation — the  table  going  up  into  the  air  at  an  angle. 


Eusapia  Palladino 


169 


"C.^     Both   feet  being  on  our  feet,   my  left  hand  being 
across  both  her  knees. 

Position  I 

B.P. 

0 


"F.  I  looked  under  the  table  and  clearly  saw  that  her 
knees  and  the  table  legs  were  not  touching." 

Various  raps  and  tilts  followed,  including  one  complete 
levitation.  As  we  found  considerable  difficulty  in  dictating 
the  control  to  the  stenographer,  he  entered  the  room,  and 

Position  II 


took  up  his  position  at  another  table,  at  a  distance  of  eight 
or  nine  feet  from  the  medium.     F.  and  C.  changed  places, 

'  Throughout  the  seances,  initials  will  be  found  indicating  the  dictator.  Thus, 
in  this  first  seance,  C  =  Carrington,  F  =  Feilding,  and  M  =  Meeson  (our  stenog- 
rapher). 


170  Eusapia  Palladino 

at  1 1. 1 5,  when  this  was  going  on.  During  the  rest  of  the 
series  of  sittings  the  stenographer  was  invariably  present  in 
the  room  at  his  own  table.  Various  tilts  and  a  complete 
levitation  at  11.26  followed  under  good  conditions.  At 
11.43  the  following  incident  occurred: 

"The  table  rocks  violently. 

"F.  I  am  certain  that  her  right  leg  is  not  touching  the 
table. 

"C.  My  right  hand  being  across  both  knees.  Complete 
levitation  of  the  table. 

"F.  I  am  certain  that  her  right  leg  is  not  touching  the 
table.  My  right  leg  was  continuously  curled  round  the  table 
leg.  I  can  see  right  down  the  right  leg  of  the  table.  The 
medium  removed  her  hands,  and  mine,  from  the  table,  which 
rose  right  up  into  the  air  about  two  seconds  after  the  hands 
had  left.  My  right  hand  had  been  pulled  up  by  her  about 
two  feet  above  the  table  before  it  started.  [My  left  hand 
was  on  her  right  knee.] 

"C.  Her  left  foot  was  on  my  right  foot;  my  right  hand 
W'as  held  by  the  medium  beneath  the  table,  in  her  lap,  about 
one  foot  from  the  table.  [M.  notes  that  he  could  see  table 
in  the  air,  with  nobody  touching  it.] 

"C.     Medium's  left  foot  was  continuously  on  my  right." 

Another  levitation  and  further  tilts  took  place,  immediately 
after  this  phenomenon.  At  11.56  we  first  saw  the  famous 
"curtain"  phenomenon — the  curtain  blowing  out  as  though 
from  a  wind  inside — bulging  out  the  curtain,  as  the  sail  of 
a  ship  might  be  blown  out  by  the  wind.  The  medium  held 
one  of  our  hands  toward  the  curtain,  and  the  curtain  blew 
out  of  its  own  accord  while  our  hands  were  at  least  a  foot 
away  from  it.  Her  hands  and  knees  were  also  controlled 
M'hile  this  was  taking  place,  and  we  could  see  that  her  head 
and  body  remained  immovable. 


Eusapia  Palladino  171 

At  11.58  a  complete  levitation  of  the  table  occurred  un- 
der excellent  conditions.  Mr.  Feilding  was  enabled  to  stoop 
down,  and  pass  his  hands  under  the  table  lep:s  while  it  was  in 
the  air,  showing  that  it  was  several  inches  off  the  floor.  Both 
the  medium's  hands  were  held  away  from  the  table.  My 
right  hand  was  across  both  her  knees,  both  her  feet  were 
securely  held,  and  we  observed  that  the  table  legs  did  not 
touch  her  skirt  in  such  a  manner  as  to  effect  the  results. 
AVhile  the  table  was  in  the  air,  Eusapia  suddenly  brought  my 
hand  down  on  to  the  table,  and  asked  me  to  press  downward 
as  hard  as  I  could,  she  also  pressing  downward  with  her  hand 
above  mine.  I  used  considerable  force  in  an  attempt  to 
force  the  table  to  the  floor,  but  for  two  or  three  seconds  was 
unable  to  do  so.  Several  raps  and  bulgings  of  the  curtain 
followed.  Between  these  bulgings,  I  felt  along  the  floor, 
and  between  the  medium  and  the  curtain,  and  ascertained 
that  there  was  no  string  or  thread  which  Eusapia  was  pulling 
in  order  to  cause  these  bulgings.  I  found  none.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  even  if  she  had  succeeded  in  attaching  a  string 
to  the  curtain,  unknown  to  us,  and  pulled  it  at  the  critical 
moment,  the  phenomena  would  have  had  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent appearance  than  any  which  we  saw.  It  would  have 
come  out  always  at  one  place,  and  in  a  point,  as  it  were, 
whereas  the  bulgings  we  perceived  took  place  in  various 
parts  of  the  curtain,  and  always  had  a  rounded  appearance, 
as  though  a  head  were  inside,  pushing  against  the  curtain. 
Moreover,  since  both  the  medium's  hands  were  perfectly 
visible  in  ours,  we  ascertained  that  she  was  not  pulling  any 
thread,  or  making  any  movement  that  would  be  necessary 
in  order  to  accomplish  this  result.  These  observations  we 
checked  off  repeatedly  at  later  sittings. 

Two  levitations,    two  minutes  apart,   followed  by  seven 


172 


Eusapla  Palladino 


raps  on  the  table,  told  us  to  end  the  seance,  which  we  did 
at  12.30  A.M.  At  our  first  sitting  we  had  obtained  only 
raps,  curtain  phenomena,  and  levitations  of  the  table. 


SEANCE  2 

Our  second  seance  occurred  under  practically  the  same 
conditions,  on  the  evening  of  November  23d.  Only  F.  and 
C.  were  present,  with  the  exception  of  M.,  the  stenographer, 
at  his  separate  table.  The  same  light  was  permitted  at 
first,  though  this  was  afterwards  reduced,  as  the  notes  will 
show.  F.  controlled  the  right  side  of  the  medium  on  this 
occasion,  and  C.  the  left. 


We  commenced  by  asking  the  medium  to  obtain  raps  on 
the  surface  of  the  table,  while  her  feet  and  legs  are  clearly 
not  touching  the  table  legs.  She  consents,  and  kneels  on  a 
chair,  her  feet  away  from  the  table.  Her  right  hand  rests 
on  the  table,  closely  observed  by  us,  and  apparently  motion- 
less. Eusapia  then  makes  two  movements  with  her  left 
hand,  at  a  distance  of  about  six  inches  above  the  table.  Two 
faint,  echolike  raps  occur  in  the  wood,  about  a  second  later. 
After  obtaining  these  raps  we  tied  Eusapia's  legs  to  the  legs 


Eusapia  Palladino  173 

of  our  chairs  by  means  of  ropes,  which  were  first  passed  round 
each  ankle,  knotted,  and  then  carried  to  our  chair  legs,  where 
they  were  securely  fastened.  This  tying  occupied  thirteen 
minutes — from  which  it  may  be  judged  that  it  was  fairly 
secure!  We  then  resumed  our  places  at  the  table,  placing 
our  feet  upon  her  feet  and  pressing  her  knees  together  with 
our  knees.  We  then  each  placed  a  hand  upon  one  of  her 
knees,  and  with  our  other  free  hand,  each  held  one  of  Eusa- 
pia's  hands  upon  the  table. 

Raps  and  tilts  began  almost  immediately.  Some  of  these 
were  very  remarkable,  and  one  of  them  ended  in  a  complete 
levitation.  The  table  had  tilted  on  to  its  two  right  legs.  I 
was  holding  the  medium's  left  hand  in  my  hand,  over  the 
table,  her  left  foot  pressing  on  my  right  foot,  my  right  knee 
being  in  contact  with  her  left  knee.  Her  right  hand  was 
resting  on  F.'s  shoulder,  her  right  knee  and  foot  also  being 
carefully  controlled.  The  table  was  then  completely  levi- 
tated, and,  while  it  was  in  the  air,  I  brought  my  hand  down 
to  its  surface  and  pressed  upon  the  table  strongly,  in  an  at- 
tempt to  force  it  to  the  floor.  Eusapia  also  pressed  with  her 
hand — which  was  controlled  by  my  hand.  In  spite  of  our 
united  pressure,  however,  the  table  remained  in  the  air  for 
at  least  two  or  three  seconds,  before  falling  heavily  to  the 
floor. 

At  ii.oi,  Eusapia's  feet  and  knees  being  controlled  by 
our  feet,  and  by  our  hands,  which  rested  across  her  knees, 
the  table  tilted  away  from  her — the  two  nearest  legs  rising 
into  the  air  at  least  a  foot.  At  the  moment  this  took  place, 
the  mcch'um  clenched  both  fists,  and  removed  them  away 
from  the  table,  on  a  line  with  her  waist,  to  a  distance  of 
about  eighteen  inches.  Both  hands  were  clearly  visible,  fists 
clenched.     She  sat  well  back  in  her  chair  and  we  observed 


174  Eusapia  Palladino 

that  there  was  a  clear  space  of  at  least  nine  inches  between 
her  body  and  the  table,  during  the  production  of  this  remark- 
able phenomenon. 

A  series  of  levitations  then  followed — succeeding  one  an- 
other so  rapidly  that  we  found  it  difficult  to  dictate  the  con- 
trol. In  spite  of  our  utmost  attention  and  repeated  efforts 
to  check  these  levitations,  by  some  means  or  other  they  con- 
tinued to  occur  In  the  most  exasperating  manner.  We  were 
seated  merely  on  the  corners  of  our  chairs,  constantly  peer- 
ing beneath  the  table,  noting  the  distance  between  her  body 
and  the  table,  her  skirt  and  the  table  legs,  the  exact  posi- 
tion of  her  knees,  her  feet,  her  hands,  her  head — holding, 
controlling,  probing,  investigating — all  to  no  purpose.  The 
table  continued  to  rise  into  the  air  in  spite  of  our  utmost 
precautions  and  our  attempts  to  prevent  it.  Our  record, 
of  this  series  reads  as  follows: 

"11.05  P-M.     Complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"F.  The  table  lifts  about  six  inches,  only  C.'s  and  my 
hands  were  on  the  table,  clasped  across  the  middle. 

"Another  complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"F.  Nobody's  hands  are  on  the  table.  It  goes  up  all 
by  itself! 

"Another  complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"C.  All  hands  being  off  the  table.  Her  right  hand  was 
free,  but  perfectly  visible,  and  about  six  inches  off  the  table. 

"11. 10.  F.  asks  medium  to  attempt  levitation  while 
standing  up.  She  agrees,  but  presently  says  she  cannot  stand 
any  longer.     She  reseats  herself. 

"ii.ii.     Complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"C.  Both  hands  of  the  medium  are  about  eight  inches 
above  the  table.  I  can  clearly  feel  her  left  foot  across  my 
right.  The  leg  of  the  table  was  not  in  contact  with  her 
skirt. 

"Another  complete  levitation  of  the  table. 


Eusapia  Palladino  175 

"F.  My  left  hand  was  underneath  the  bottom  of  the  leg 
of  the  table.  There  was  no  contact  between  her  and  the  table 
leg.     Her  right  hand  is  off  the  table  altogether. 

"C.  There  is  nine  inches  between  her  body  and  the 
table." 

Between  this  time  and  11.32  the  light  was  lowered  several 
times  so  that  we  could  distinguish  merely  the  outlines  of 
the  medium's  body,  and  the  details  of  her  head  and  hands 
upon  close  inspection.  During  this  period  raps,  tilts,  cur- 
tain phenomena,  and  levitations  had  continued  to  take  place. 
At  11.34  we  experienced  our  first  phenomenon  of  a  different 
character,  consisting  in  the  movement  of  objects  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  body  of  the  medium.  The  conditions  of  this 
experiment  were  as  follows: 

"C.  My  right  hand  is  under  the  table,  firmly  holding 
the  medium's  left  hand. 

"F.  I  have  hold  of  her  right  hand  continuously  in  her 
lap. 

"C.     Medium  holds  my  right  hand  firmly. 

"F.  The  medium  kicks  with  her  right  foot  violently 
on  mine. 

"C.     She  kicks  with  her  left  foot  also. 

"C.  Her  left  hand  raises  my  right  hand  toward  the  cur- 
tain. 

'T.     Objects  in  the  cabinet  rattle  on  the  table. 

"F.  Medium  asks  me  to  put  my  left  arm  on  her  shoulder. 
Her  right  arm  is  around  my  neck. 

"C.  With  her  left  hand  medium  is  holding  my  right  hand 
on  the  table. 

"C.  Objects  in  the  cabinet  fall  over  on  the  table.  She 
grasped  my  right  hand  firmly  in  her  left  hand  at  the  time 
this  was  going  on  and  pressed  on  my  right  foot  with  her  left 
foot. 

*T.  I  held  her  right  hand  on  the  table  with  my  left  and 
the  tips  of  both  her  feet  under  the  table  with  my  right  hand. 


1176  Eusapia  Palladino 

"C.  My  left  hand  holds  her  head.  I  am  holding  her 
left  hand  in  my  right." 

Immediately  after  this,  the  small  table,  which  had  been 
placed  in  the  cabinet,  and  upon  which  rested  the  various 
musical  instruments,  climbed  up  of  its  own  accord  on  to  the 
seance  table.  It  came  up,  remaining  behind  the  curtains,  so 
that  it  was  invisible.  Several  objects  remained  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  table — kept  there  by  the  pressure  of  the  curtain 
above  them.  It  came  up  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  de- 
grees, and,  while  it  was  endeavoring  to  clamber  up  on  the 
seance  table  by  a  series  of  jerks,  I  placed  my  hand  and  elbow 
upon  its  surface  and  pressed  downward  in  an  attempt  to 
force  it  to  the  floor.  I  experienced  a  peculiar  elastic  resist- 
ance, however,  as  though  the  table  were  strung  on  rubber 
bands  and  was  unable  to  force  it  downward.  I  continued 
this  struggle  for  several  seconds,  then  yielded  and  allowed  the 
table  to  clamber  on  to  our  seance  table,  which  it  almost  suc- 
ceeded in  doing.  While  this  was  happening,  we  verified, 
several  times,  that  our  control  of  head,  hands,  elbows,'  feet, 
and  knees  was  secure. 

At  11.44  we  experienced  for  the  first  time  a  touch  by 
an  apparently  human  hand.  This  was  in  reply  to  a  request. 
F.  had  said,  'John,  will  you  touch  me?'  He  was  imme- 
diately touched  on  the  left  forearm  as  though  by  a  hand. 
He  verified  at  that  moment  that  he  was  holding  the  medium's 
right  hand  in  his,  while  I  verified  that  I  was  holding  her 
left  hand.     Her  head  was  clearly  visible." 

Following  this,  we  experienced  a  series  of  touches,  which 
we  recorded  as  follows: 

"F.  asks  John  to  touch  C. 

"C.     I  am  touched  through  the  curtain  on  my  right  arm. 


Eusapla  Palladino  177 

Her  hand  is  holding  mine  on  top  of  the  table.  I  could 
see  her  face. 

"F.     I  could  see  her  right  hand  in  mine,  and  her  face. 

"11.49.  F.  asks  whether  John  can  touch  C.  on  his  head. 
The  medium  asks  F.  to  rest  his  head  against  hers. 

"F.     Our  two  heads  are  touching. 

"C.  I  am  touched  on  the  head  by  a  hand  through  the 
curtain.  While  this  was  going  on,  the  medium  held  my  hand 
in  hers,  and  I  could  feel  her  forearm,  with  my  arm  pressed 
against  it.  The  distance  between  her  hand  and  the  touch 
was  about  two  feet. 

"F.  Her  head  was  resting  against  mine.  Her  right  hand 
was  in  mine. 

"C.     The  curtain  blows  right  out  over  the  table." 

At  this  point  the  medium  asked  that  her  feet  might 
be  untied,  as  they  were  hurting  her.  [Up  to  this  point  they 
had  remained  securely  tied  with  rope  to  our  chair  legs.] 

F.  stooped  down  to  untie  the  rope  on  his  side,  and  at  the 
moment  he  was  doing  so  I  saw  a  square  black  object  come 
out  from  the  cabinet  to  within  a  few  inches  of  my  face  and 
instantly  recede  into  the  curtains  again.  This  square  ob- 
ject somewhat  resembled  a  head  in  outline — although  it  was 
exceptionally  square  and  rather  small.  It  appeared  to  be 
attached  to  a  long  neck.  Eusapia's  left  hand  was  held  in 
mine  and  her  body  and  head  appeared  to  be  motionless.  As, 
however,  her  right  hand  was  unaccounted  for,  since  F.  had 
released  it  in  order  to  untie  her  feet,  we  had  to  discount  the 
evidential  value  of  this  phenomenon.  F.  stated,  however, 
that  he  looked  up  immediately  I  cried  out,  on  seeing  the  face, 
and  saw  Eusapia's  right  hand  and  arm  resting  quietly,  partly 
on  the  table  and  partly  on  his  own  shoulder. 

The  cabinet  curtains  had  remained  drawn  to  one  side,  and, 
leaning  sideways  on  my  chair,  I  was  enabled  to  see  into  the 


178  Eusapia  Palladino 

cabinet.  While  doing  so,  I  perceived  that  the  small  round 
table  (which  had  fallen  backward,  after  its  attempt  to  climb 
up  on  the  seance  table,  and  was  now  lying  prone  upon  the 
floor)  seemed  to  be  endowed  with  life  and  commenced  to 
move  about  upon  the  floor  of  its  own  accord.  I  watched  the 
movements  for  sometime,  pausing  to  ascertain  that  Eusapia's 
feet,  knees,  and  hands  were  securely  held  in  F.'s  hands  and 
mine,  and  again  saw  the  table  moving  at  some  distance  from 
everybody.     It  moved  about  a  foot. 

Eusapia  now  pressed  F.'s  hand  three  times,  and  three  noises 
in  the  cabinet  were  heard,  corresponding  to  these  squeezes. 
The  noises  appeared  to  issue  from  the  tambourine,  whose 
cymbals  were  heard  to  rattle. 

I  have  said  that  the  small  table  was  lying  across  the  cabi- 
net floor.  In  the  corner  rested  our  guitar,  standing  upside 
down,  where  it  had  fallen  from  the  small  table  when  the 
latter  was  forcibly  extracted  from  the  cabinet.  In  this  posi- 
tion, it  will  be  seen,  the  small  table  formed  an  effectual  de- 
fense, or  barrier,  as  it  were — some  eighteen  inches  high,  be- 
tween Eusapia's  feet  and  the  guitar  in  the  corner.  In  order 
to  reach  the  guitar,  moreover,  she  would  have  had  to  lift 
her  foot,  pass  it  between  the  opening  in  the  curtains,  over 
the  table,  and  touch  the  strings  of  the  guitar.  When  I  say, 
moreover,  that  both  the  medium's  feet  were  securely  held, 
and  that  there  was  a  clearly  lighted  patch  of  carpet  of  about 
a  foot  between  her  skirt  and  the  cabinet  curtains,  it  will  be 
obvious  that  her  feet  had  nothin:^  to  do  with  the  following 
phenomenon. 

The  medium  was  standing  up,  out-ide  the  cabinet,  her 
hands  held  in  ours.  She  took  one  of  F.'s  hands  in  hers,  and 
rapped  upon  it  three  times  with  the  other.  Exactly  corre- 
sponding with  the  first  two  raps,  raps  were  heard  on  the 


Eusapia  Palladino  179 

wood  of  the  small  table  in  the  cabinet,  and  corresponding 
with  the  third  tap,  one  string  of  the  guitar  was  played.  The 
medium  had  had  no  opportunity  to  touch  this  instrument  be- 
fore, and  we  regarded  this  phenomenon  as  one  obtained  under 
excellent  test  conditions. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  seance  a  rather  amusing  incident 
occurred.  The  medium  had  said  that  she  was  tired,  and 
asked  John  if  the  seance  might  terminate.  John  replied, 
"No!  No!"  by  means  of  raps  upon  the  table.  The  medium 
said,  "Say  yes,  John,  please,"  but  John  again  rapped,  "No! 
No!"  The  curtains  of  the  cabinet  were  then  gently  parted, 
as  if  by  invisible  hands,  and  the  next  minute  four  complete 
levitations  of  the  table  took,  place,  following  one  another  in- 
stantaneously. This  took  place  when  both  hands  and  both 
feet  of  the  medium  were  well  held — her  hands  being  clearly 
visible  about  six  inches  above  the  table.  After  this,  Eusapia 
again  asked  "John"  if  the  seance  might  end,  and  this  time 
he  rapped  three  times  for  "yes." 


SEANCE  3 

The  first  two  seances  had  afforded  us  ample  opportunity 
to  assure  ourselves  that  the  phenomena  were  real,  and  had 
indicated  several  weak  points  in  the  management  of  the 
seance — partly  in  the  manner  of  dictating  the  stenographic 
record,  but  chiefly  as  to  the  arrangement  of  the  lights. 

For  our  third  seance,  we  had,  accordingly,  arranged  in 
the  same  position  as  the  single  burner  at  the  previous  seances, 
a  cluster  of  four  electric  lights.  The  current  varied  through 
no,  150,  220,  and  240  volts.  These  lamps  are  referred  to 
throughout  the  shorthand  notes  as  Numbers  I,  2,  3,  and  4, 
respectively.     No.    i    was  a  bright  white  light,  sufficiently 


i8o  Eusapia  Palladino 

clear  to  enable  us  to  read  small  print  with  ease;  No.  2  a 
feeble  white  light,  but  enabling  us  to  see  across  the  room 
various  articles  of  furniture,  etc. ;  No.  3  was  a  bright  red 
light,  really  as  intense  as  No,  2,  and  we  had  to  shade  this 
later  with  tissue  paper  and  a  silk  handkerchief,  since  the  rays 
were  very  penetrating ;  No.  4  was  a  feeble  red  light,  enabling 
us  only  to  see  the  white  of  the  medium's  head  and  hands, 
and  in  order  to  detect  the  texture  of  the  skin,  etc.,  we  had  to 
hold  them  within  a  few  inches  of  our  eyes.  The  stenographer 
was  provided  with  a  separate  red  lamp  of  his  own,  so  as  to 
throw  no  light  into  any  part  of  the  room — the  rays  being 
directed  downward  on  to  his  notebook. 

In  order  to  test,  further,  the  phenomena  of  levitation,  we 
had  had  constructed,  in  wood,  a  piece  of  apparatus,  which  we 
styled  "the  stocks."  [See  accompanying  figure.]  This  con- 
sisted of  two  square,  tapering  cubes,  into  which  were  set  the 
legs  of  the  table.  These  tubes  were  fastened  to  a  board,  and 
this  board  was  held  to  the  floor  by  our  feet,  which  were 
placed  upon  it,  and  by  the  legs  of  our  chairs,  which  also  rested 
upon  this  board.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  medium 
could  no  longer  raise  the  table  by  means  of  her  feet,  since  she 
could  not  touch  the  table  legs  nearest  to  her  in  any  way. 
She  was  also  prevented  from  levitating  the  table  with  her 
knees  by  the  board  which  joined  these  two  tubes  at  the  upper 
extremity.  The  table  could  rock  and  sway,  therefore,  with 
more  or  less  freedom,  and  could,  of  course,  be  levitated  with 
perfect  ease. 

The  seance  commenced  about  9.50,  and  considerable  time 
elapsed  without  any  important  phenomena  taking  place.  The 
lights  were  successively  lowered  through  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  and  4. 
After  about  fifteen  minutes  the  curtain  commenced  blowing 
out,  and  at  10.10  an  incident  occurred  which  shows  us  how 


Eusapia  Palladino  i8i 

this  power  may  be  communicated  from  the  medium  to  one  of 
her  sitters  when  she  chooses  to  impart  it.     Thus: 

"F.  She  asked  me  to  make  a  motion  toward  the  curtain 
with  my  hand,  free,  I  did  so,  and  the  curtain  moved.  She 
then  took  hold  of  my  wrist  and  the  curtain  came  out  and 
touched  me." 

Position  I 


C 


F 


At  10.32  we  detected  a  substitution  of  hands,  which  was 
the  first  attempt  at  fraud  that  the  medium  had  made,  and, 
I  feel  sure,  with  one  possible  exception,  during  the  ninth 
seance,  that  it  was  the  last.  The  lights  had  been  successively 
lowered,  until  almost  complete  darkness  resulted — this  being 
very  different  from  our  first  two  seances,  where  all  our  best 
phenomena  had  been  obtained  in  bright  light.  Moreover, 
instead  of  holding  our  hands  upon  the  table,  the  medium 
insisted  in  holding  them  beneath  it — upon  the  board  of 
the  stocks — still  farther  in  the  shadow.  Our  record  of  the 
incident  reads  as  follows: 

"10.32.  F.  The  medium  makes  three  gestures  with  the 
right  hand  and  nothing  happens. 

"C.     The  curtain  blows  out  on  the  table. 

'T.  For  the  first  time  the  right-hand  curtain  blows  out 
on  the  table. 


i82  Eusapia  Palladino 

"C.  My  left  hand  was  not  properly  held,  and  I  am  per- 
fectly certain  that  there  was  a  substitution  of  hands. 

"F,  explains  to  the  medium  that  the  control  was  not  good." 

I  think  that  this  detection  of  fraud,  instead  of  tending  to 
disprove  the  reality  of  the  phenomena,  is  the  strongest  pos- 
sible argument  we  could  have  that  the  majority  of  them 
were  genuine,  and  this  for  two  reasons:  In  the  first  place,  the 
character  of  the  resultant  phenomena  was  entirely  different 
from  those  which  we  had  seen  before  and  those  which  we 
saw  later.  Whereas,  in  the  other  instances,  the  curtain  had 
merely  bulged  out,  as  though  blown  by  a  wind  from  within 
— in  this  particular  instance  the  curtain  came  out  with  a 
swish  and  the  lower  end  of  it  landed  on  the  seance  table. 
Nothing  like  it  ever  happened  before  or  after. 

Secondly,  the  whole  process  was  easily  perceived  by  me, 
on  whose  side  it  occurred.  I  saw  the  medium  effect  the 
well-known  substitution  of  hands,  release  the  right  hand  and 
arm,  place  it  behind  her  into  the  cabinet,  catch  hold  of  the  cur- 
tain on  that  side  and  throw  it  out  over  the  table.  Imme- 
diately she  resorted  to  fraud — it  will  be  observed — we  de- 
tected it,  and  this  is  one  very  strong  argument,  it  seems  to 
me,  that  we  should  have  detected  it  on  other  occasions  also 
had  she  resorted  to  it.  When  we  told  Eusapia  that  the  con- 
trol of  her  hands  was  not  good — intimating  to  her  that  she 
had  practiced  fraud,  she  immediately  admitted  that  the  con- 
trol had  not  been  satisfactory  and  replaced  her  hands  in 
ours,  allowing  for  the  rest  of  that  seance,  and  thence- 
forward, perfect  control  to  be  exercised  and  did  not  again  at- 
tempt fraud  at  any  of  the  ensuing  seances. 

It  seems  probable  to  me  that  Eusapia  attempted  fraud  on 
this  occasion  in  order  to  test  our  credulity,  and  to  see  if  we 
could  be  deceived   by  it.     It  must  be  remembered   that  a 


Eusapia  Palladino  183 

genuine  seance  is  exceedingly  exhausting  to  Eusapia,  and 
if  she  could  have  succeeded  in  producing  fraudulent  phe- 
nomena, and  in  duping  us  into  thinking  that  they  were 
genuine,  she  would  have  saved  herself  this  outlay  of  nervous 
energy  and  yet  receive  her  pay  for  the  seances  as  usual!  I 
believe,  therefore,  that  this  phenomenon  was  merely  to  test 
us,  and  to  see  if  she  could  rely  upon  deceiving  us  during 
the  future  seances.  Finding  that  she  could  not,  she  made 
up  her  mind  that  to  attempt  fraud  was  useless,  and  thence- 
forth consented  to  our  most  rigorous  control  and  made 
no  further  attempt  to  produce  phenomena  by  fraudulent 
means. 

Repeatedly,  after  this,  the  medium  asked  us  to  verify  the 
fact  that  her  hands  and  feet  were  securely  held,  and  generally 
warned  us  in  advance,  so  that  we  could  make  sure  of  their 
exact  position  before  any  phenomenon.  Thus,  at  10.52  the 
medium  said : 

"Look  out!     I  feel  that  something  is  going  to  happen!" 

She  pressed  vigorously  on  my  foot  and  immediately  after- 
wards we  obtained  our  first  complete  levitation  of  the  table 
that  evening.  The  medium  was  holding  my  left  hand  in  her 
right  hand  on  her  right  knee,  and  F.'s  right  hand  was  held  by 
her  left  hand  on  her  left  knee.  We  each  felt  a  complete 
hand  and  assured  ourselves  that  there  was  no  question  of 
substitution.  F.,  at  the  moment  of  the  production  of  the 
phenomenon,  saw  something  which  he  described  as  "a  filmy 
black  thing"  shoot  out  from  her  body  and  touch  the  table 
immediately  before  the  levitation. 

To  the  skeptic  this  would  suggest  that  some  mechanical 
device  was  employed  by  Eusapia  in  order  to  effect  the  levi- 
tation. We  frequently  ascertained,  however,  that  such  was 
not  the  case.    Not  only  could  we  see  a  clear  space  between  her 


184  Eusapia  Palladino 

body  and  the  table,  but  we  frequently  passed  our  hands  be- 
tween them  during  the  actual  levltation,  in  a  number  of  in- 
stances. We  have  to  conclude,  then,  it  seems  to  me,  that  this 
filmy  black  substance  was  some  supernormal  prolongation, 
and  was  not  a  mechanical  appliance  as  might  be  imagined  at 
first  sight. 

A  few  minutes  after  this,  I  was  pulled  by  a  hand  through 
the  curtains  of  the  cabinet,  and  the  medium  called  our  at- 
tention to  a  black  shadow,  which,  however,  we  did  not  see. 
This  fact  is  interesting,  since  it  shows  us  how  little  expec- 
tancy and  suggestion  can  succeed  in  producing  hallucinations 
during  these  sittings.  So  far  as  I  can  remember,  this  is  al- 
most the  only  instance  where  Eusapia  directly  suggested  to 
us  that  a  form  was  to  be  seen  in  a  certain  direction — and  we 
failed  to  see  it! 

At  10,59  I  heard  something  moving  in  the  cabinet,  which 
I  described  as  a  sound  similar  to  that  made  by  a  small  kitten 
romping  about.  Nothing,  however,  resulted  immediately. 
At  11.06  the  medium  asked  M.,  the  stenographer,  to  change 
places  with  me.  He  accordingly  assumed  control  of  her  right 
side,  while  F.  went  under  the  table  and  held  her  ankles  in 
his  hands.  On  my  side  I  was  holding  the  medium's  left 
hand  on  her  left  thigh,  my  hand  entirely  encircling  hers. 
Under  these  conditions  of  control,  we  obtained  a  complete 
levitation  of  the  table  of  about  eight  inches.  A  minute  later, 
we  obtained  a  second  levitation,  which,  however,  we  had 
largely  to  discount  for  evidential  purposes — inasmuch  as  the 
medium  had  asked  to  rest  and  we  were  more  or  less  off 
our  guard.  Personally  we  were  convinced  that  she  did  not 
produce  the  levitation  by  fraudulent  means,  but  we  would 
not  attempt  to  convince  others  on  evidence  itself  inconclu- 
sive.    At  this  point  M.  resumed  his  position  at  his  table. 


Eusapia  Palladino 


1 8s 


made  notes  of  what  had  occurred,  while  F.  assumed  control 
of  the  right  side. 

11.35.     Medium's  hands  tied  to  ours  with   rope. 

At  11.45,  after  a  series  of  curtain  phenomena  and  lesser 


manifestations,  the  following  interesting  series  of  events  took 
place,  the  account  of  which  I  quote  from  the  detailed  record : 

"C.  The  tambourine  in  the  cabinet  rattles  after  three 
distinct  movements.  While  that  was  going  on,  I  was  hold- 
ing medium's  left  hand  over  the  table  with  my  right. 

"Medium  says:  'Oh,  la!  la!  la!'  several  times,  and  then 
suddenly  the  table  in  the  cabinet  falls  over  and  the  things 
on  it  fall  to  the  floor  with  a  crash.  Tambourine  strikes 
several  times. 

"F.     She  was  holding  my  right  hand  all  the  time. 

"C.  Touched  on  my  right  arm.  Medium  holds  my  right 
hand  in  her  left  all  the  time.  Her  left  foot  pressing  on  my 
right  foot. 

"C.  Touched  again  on  my  right  arm.  She  presses  four 
times  strongly  with  her  finger  on  my  hand. 

"F.  Her  right  foot  on  mine  all  the  time,  and  kicking 
about,  her  right  hand  pressing  on  mine. 

"C.  Medium  presses  her  left  foot  on  my  right.  Loud 
noises  in  the  cabinet,  as  though  objects  were  moving  about 
within. 


1 86  Eusapla  Palladino 

"F.  She  is  kicking  about  under  the  table  with  her  right 
foot." 

[The  above  series  of  phenomena  took  place  so  rapidly, 
like  a  kind  of  feu  de  joie,  that  it  was  difficult  to  describe  the 
control  throughout.  The  final  description  of  the  foot  con- 
trol, when  one  foot  was  stationary,  while  the  other  moved 
about,  seems  to  make  it  clear  that  two  separate  feet  were 
held.] 

Immediately  after  these  phenomena,  a  complete  levitation 
of  the  table  occurred. 

At  11.50  another  series  of  remarkable  phenomena  oc- 
curred, the  account  of  which  I  again  quote  from  the  original 
record : 

"Gestures  made  toward  the  cabinet,  followed  by  movements 
of  instruments  inside  the  cabinet. 

"Medium  tells  F.  to  make  gestures  with  his  free  hand  and 
noises  inside  the  cabinet  follow  them   irregularly. 

"C.  Small  table  is  coming  out  from  under  the  curtain 
on  my  right,  legs  first.  One  leg  of  the  table  has  climbed  up 
on  to  my  chair.  [Here  again  the  phenomena  followed  so 
quickly  that  a  description  of  the  control  was  impossible.  We 
can  only  say  that  it  seemed  adequate  at  the  time.] 

"Light  No.  4. 

"M.     I  can  see  everything  very  clearly. 

"F.     So  can  I. 

"C.     So  can  I. 

"Noises  again  follow  gestures  made  by  F. 

"C.  The  small  table  attempts  to  climb  on  to  the  seance 
table  and  falls  back. 

"M.  I  can  see  all  the  hands  over  and  away  from  the 
table  and  her  feet. 

"Things  in  the  cabinet  move  about  violently  and  with 
great  commotion. 

"F.     Feet  are  all  right.     [That  is,  securely  held.] 

"11.51.  C.  In  good  light  I  can  see  the  small  table  mov- 
ing toward  me,  the  result  of  my  making  movements  toward 


Eusapia  Palladino  187 

it  with  my  right  hand.  The  medium's  left  hand  holding  my 
right  hand  and  clearly  visible.  She  is  pressing  on  my  right 
foot  with  her  left  foot. 

"F.  Her  right  foot  firmly  fixed  on  mine.  I  have  just 
verified  with  my  hand  the  division  of  her  toes. 

"Medium  asked  C.  to  lift  up  the  small  table  and  put  it 
upright.  [The  small  table  now  stands  completely  out  of  the 
cabinet.] 

"11.53.     Complete  levitation  of  the  small  table. 

"C.  My  right  hand  being  on  the  surface,  her  left  hand 
being  upon  mine,  her  left  foot  pressing  strongly  on  mine. 

"The  table  is  raised  about  a  foot  in  the  air. 

"F.     Her  right  foot  is  pressing  on  mine. 

"11.57  P.  M.  C.  She  puts  her  left  hand  on  my  right, 
W'hich  rests  flat  on  the  top  of  the  small  table  and  the  table 
again  rises  a  foot  in  the  air.  Her  foot  is  still  strongly  press- 
ing on  my  right. 

"F.  Her  right  foot  is  still  pressing  on  mine;  her  right 
hand  is  visible  close  to  me,  in  mine. 

"C.  I  now  ascertain  that  there  is  no  string  or  connection 
between  the  medium  and  the  small  table.  The  distance  be- 
tween the  small  table  and  the  dress  of  the  medium  appears  to 
me  to  be  about  a  foot." 

Soon  after  this  the  medium  made  several  movements  of 
her  hand  above  the  table,  which  rocked  to  and  fro  in  re- 
sponse to  her  motions.  Finally,  a  complete  levitation  re- 
sulted, the  small  table  rising  to  a  height  of  about  a  foot. 

During  these  latter  phenomena,  I  had  not  been  perfectly 
satisfied  with  the  control  of  the  foot  on  my  side,  not  feel- 
ing the  whole  of  the  foot,  as  I  did  usually.  We  explained 
to  her  that  the  control  had  not  been  considered  perfect,  and 
that  we  were  not  altogether  satisfied.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
and  as  the  result  of  added  experience,  I  now  think  that  these 
phenomena  were  probably  genuine,  but  I  was  naturally  skep- 
tical at  the  time,  after  only  three  seances — at  one  of  which 


i88  Eusapia  Palladino 

we  had  detected  fraud.  I  was,  therefore,  in  a  hypercritical 
frame  of  mind  and  undesirous  of  accepting  any  phenomenon 
not  produced  under  absolutely  test  conditions.  Immediately 
we  told  Eusapia  that  our  control  had  not  been  good,  she 
said,  "Let  us  repeat  it,  then,"  and  resumed  her  place  at  the 
table,  asking  us  to  control  her  as  before.  I  regret  to  say 
that  in  spite  of  our  waiting  sometime  no  additional  move- 
ments of  the  small  table  took  place. 


SEANCE  4 

After  our  third  seance  Eusapia  informed  us  that  we  must 
provide  a  larger  circle  if  we  wished  to  see  the  more  striking 
phenomena — since  two  of  us  were  not  enough  to  supply  the 
necessary  "current."  She  asked  that  a  friend  of  hers,  a  M. 
De  Santis,  and  two  other  friends  might  be  present — who 
would  sit  outside  the  circle  and  act  merely  as  spectators.  To 
this  we  agreed,  feeling  that,  although  we  might  thereby 
sacrifice  certain  scientific  control  of  the  seance,  we  might  on 
the  other  hand  obtain  more  decisive  proof  than  any  so  far 
furnished.  We  also  invited  to  this  seance  Professors  Bot- 
tazzi  and  Galeotti,  Professors  of  Physiology  and  Pathology, 
respectively,  of  the  University  of  Naples,  who  had  previously 
studied  her. 

We  had  ascertained  in  the  interval  between  the  third  and 
fourth  seances  that,  if  Eusapia  managed  to  free  one  hand, 
she  could  have  produced  levitations  of  the  table  by  fraudu- 
lent means,  in  spite  of  our  stocks  apparatus — in  this  manner: 
If  Eusapia  could  free  one  hand  and  insert  it  beneath  the  edge 
of  the  table,  an  upward  pull  would  succeed  in  levitating  the 
table,  for  the  reason  that  the  two  front  legs,  i.e.,  those  nearest 
to  her,  would  be  balanced  and  controlled  by  the  front  edge 


Eusapia  Palladino  189 

of  the  stocks — against  which  it  would  scrape  in  its  upward 
journey.  Provided  Eusapia  could  introduce  one  hand  be- 
neath the  edge  of  the  table,  therefore,  it  became  easier  for 
Eusapia  to  levitate  the  table  with  the  stocks  than  without 
them !  A  hook,  attached  to  a  strap,  passing  around  her 
shoulders,  would  have  the  same  effect.  If  the  hook  were  in- 
troduced beneath  the  table  and  the  medium  half  rose  in  her 
chair,  it  would  be  possible  to  lift  the  table  off  the  ground, 
while  both  her  hands  and  both  feet  were  securely  held. 
Because  of  the  facilities  afforded,  therefore,  and  partly  on 
account  of  Eusapia's  antagonism  to  the  apparatus,  we  dis- 
continued its  use  after  this  seance,  preferring  to  obtain  levi- 
tations  without  rather  than  with  it.  But  on  this  occasion 
we  wished  to  obtain  levltations  while  the  stocks  apparatus 
was  in  place.  We  accordingly  left  the  apparatus  as  it  was 
before,  and  around  the  under  edges  of  the  table  we  pasted 
newspaper,  reaching  down  as  far  as  the  transverse  board  of 
the  stocks,  across  the  front  and  the  two  sides,  so  that  had  a 
hand,  a  hook,  or  any  similar  instrument  been  introduced  be- 
neath the  table,  it  would  immediately  have  torn  the  paper. 
We  felt  convinced  that  if  we  obtained  phenomena  under  such 
conditions,  trickery  would  be  excluded.  We  afterwards  as- 
certained, however,  that  even  in  spite  of  all  these  precautions, 
the  table  could  still  be  fraudulently  levitated,  provided  one 
hand  were  free!  This  could  not  be  accomplished  without  the 
apparatus  and  we  accordingly  agreed  to  discontinue  its  use. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  fourth  seance,  which  com- 
menced at  9.30  P.M.  on  the  evening  of  November  29,  1908. 

No  phenomena  of  importance  occurred  for  fully  half  an 
hour,  when  the  first  manifestation  took  place.  This  was  a 
complete  levitation  of  the  table,  which  occurred  in  spite  of 
our  protective  paper  and  the  varied  precautions  observed  by 


190 


Eusapia  Palladino 


us.  Sometime  before  this,  Eusapia  had  asked  Professor  Bot- 
tazzi  to  assume  control  of  her  right  side  in  place  of  Mr. 
Feilding.  I  retained  control  of  the  left  side  up  to  this  point. 
Writing  the  next  day  of  this  levitation,  Mr.  Feilding  says: 


Position 


3 


I 


Position  II 


X     Y     ^ 


X    Y     Z 


Position  III 


X    Y    Z. 

^  [x  YZ- f^R'END:)  OF  Eusapia] 


Eusapia  Palladino  191 

"Having  been  removed  from  the  place  of  controller  of  the 
medium,  I  occupied  myself  in  guarding  the  end  of  the  table 
farthest  from  her.  The  levitation,  which  began  with  only 
a  tilt  on  two  legs,  then  on  three,  and  finally  a  levita- 
tion of  all  four  legs,  lasted  long  enough  for  me  to  be  able 
to  pass  my  hands  several  times  round  the  farthest  end  of  the 
table  and  down  the  legs,  and  verify  that  there  was  no  contact 
with  any  of  the  sitters.     Of  this  I  am  certain." 

The  medium  at  this  juncture  asked  Professor  Galeotti  to 
change  places  with  me.  He  therefore  assumed  control  of  the 
left  side,  while  Professor  Bottazzi  retained  control  of  her 
right  side.  The  medium  also  stated  that  the  paper  was  anti- 
pathetic to  her  and  asked  that  the  ends  of  the  table  might  be 
reversed.  This  was  accordingly  done.  Throughout  the 
early  part  of  this  seance  the  light  was  exceedingly  poor,  and 
we  were  not  altogether  satisfied,  for  many  reasons,  with 
the  phenomena.  The  following  extract  from  the  report  will 
show  this: 

"10.32  P.M.  F.^  Medium  makes  gestures  with  B.'s 
hands  up  in  the  air. 

"B.  I  have  the  right  hand  of  the  medium  in  my  left 
hand  in  the  air. 

"G.  I  hold  the  hand  of  the  medium  in  my  hand  in  the 
middle  of  the  table. 

''Things  tumble  about  on  the  small  table  in  the  cabinet. 

"G.     The  medium  has  her  foot  on  my  foot. 

"G.  Something  touched  my  arm.  Something  has  moved 
under  my  chair.  Something  has  again  moved  under  my  chair. 
She  holds  my  fingers  well. 

"M.     Medium  gasps  and  moans. 

"10.37.     F.     Note  the  position  of  heads  is  unknown. 

"B.     I  have  been  touched  on  my  left  shoulder. 

'In    this    seance,   F  =  Feilding,    C  =  Carrington,   M  =  Meeson,    B  =  Professor 
Bottazzi,  and  G=- Professor  Galeotti. 


192 


Eusapia  Palladino 


"C.  (to  B.).     Can  you  see  her  head? 

"B.     No. 

"10.39.     Complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"B.     The  table  is  coming  up;  right  hand  held  as  before. 
Medium  taps  violently  with  her  foot. 
_  "C.     Another  complete  levitation  of  the  table.    Medium's 
right  hand  on  my  shoulder. 

"G.     Medium's  left  hand  was  on  the  table. 

"The  table  rose  up  about  two  feet  away  from  the  me- 

d)>  ■' 

mm. 

At  1 1.04  the  small  table  in  the  cabinet  came  out  of  its  own 
accord  and  attempted  to  climb  on  to  the  seance  table.  It 
finally  ceased  its  movements  and  appeared  to  be  resting  part- 
ly on  the  table,  partly  on  Eusapia's  shoulder,  and  partly  on 
Professor  Galeotti's  shoulder.  I  went  round  to  investigate 
and  found  this  to  be  the  case. 

At  11.16,  however,  the  small  table  made  another  series  of 
attempts  to  climb  up,  and  this  time  with  more  success,  as  it 
clambered  completely  on  to  the  larger  table. 


Position  A/' 


Shortly  before  12  midnight,  Eusapia's  three  friends  and 
Professor  Bottazzi  took  their  leave — only  Professor  Galeotti, 
Mr.  Feilding,  and  myself  remaining.    F.  assumed  control  of 


Eusapla  Palladino 


193 


the  right  side,  while  G.  retained  control  of  her  left  hand  and 
foot. 

I  then  went  under  the  table,  and,  kneeling  down,  held 
Eusapia's  two  feet  in  my  hands  by  the  ankles.  F.  was  holding 
her  right  hand  in  the  middle  of  the  table,  while  G.  was  hold- 
ing her  left  hand  close  to  its  rim.  Under  these  conditions, 
and  while  the  medium  was  standing,  we  obtained  a  com- 
plete levitation,  the  table  rising  into  the  air,  all  four  legs 
at  once. 

PO6ITION  V 


F    t 


# 


At  12.16  I  again  resumed  control  of  the  left  side  of  Eusa- 
pla. The  table  tilted  on  its  two  legs  farthest  from  her  while 
I  was  holding  her  left  hand  completely  away  from  the  table, 
so  that  contact  was  impossible.  F.  then  stood  between  the 
medium  and  the  table,  her  outstretched  arms  passing  over 
his  arms,  as  over  a  fence.  Under  these  conditions  the  table 
continued  to  stand  on  the  tuo  legs  farthest  from  her  for 
several  minutes.  After  several  movements  of  objects  in  the 
cabinet,  the  following  incident  then  occurred : 

"12,23  A.M.  F.  The  tambourine  has  jumped  on  to  my 
left  knee  (and  fell  down  again). 

"C.  Tlie  medium  held  my  right  hand  firmly  and  raised 
it  toward   the  cabinet.  .  .  . 


194  Eusapia  Palladino 

"F.     Her  foot  is  still  on  mine. 

"C.  I  am  touched  on  the  right  arm.  I  am  holding 
the  medium's  left  hand  on  the  table  by  the  thumb  and 
wrist.  I  was  touched  on  the  hip.  Her  left  foot  was  on 
mine. 

"F.  I  can  see  her  face.  Medium  now  takes  both  my 
hands.     The  small  table  has  come  up  on  to  my  lap. 

"12.25.  C.  ]\Iedium  held  all  our  hands  on  both  her 
hands  [that  is,  a  pile  of  hands]. 

"C.  Her  left  foot  is  on  my  right  foot.  Her  left  arm 
rests  on  my  right  arm ;  with  my  right  hand  I  am  also  holding 
the  medium's  left  hand. 

"F.     I  am  sure  of  her  right  foot. 

"12.27  A.M.  C.  Her  left  foot  is  now  on  my  right, 
firmly. 

"F.     And  the  right  foot  is  on  my  left  foot. 

"12.28.     Movements  in  cabinet. 

"C.  With  her  left  hand  medium  holds  my  right  hand, 
about  a  foot  above  the  table. 

"12.30.  Medium  says  she  wants  to  rest.  An  intermis- 
sion of  about  two  minutes. 

"12.32.     Things  in  cabinet  move  about. 

"F.  The  small  table  falls  over  to  my  left.  Her  right  foot 
is  absolutely  certainly  on  my  left  foot.  I  am  holding  her 
right  hand  motionless  on  the  table. 

"C.  The  left  foot  was  thoroughly  on  my  right  foot,  her 
left  hand  was  held  by  my  right  hand,  about  two  feet  above 
the  table,  and  she  made  a  gesture  with  it  in  the  direction  of 
the  small  table  which  was  on  her  right  side." 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  all  our  best  phenomena  were 
obtained  after  Eusapia's  friends  had  left,  and  when  only 
Professor  Galeotti,  Mr.  Feilding,  and  myself  remained.  Had 
Eusapia  attempted  to  resort  to  fraud,  and  were  her  friends 
invited  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  her,  it  is  certain  that  phe- 
nomena should  have  been  noticed  before  they  had  left.  Since 
these  were  only  observed  after  their  departure,  however,  it 


5 '5 


—  1) 

11   o 


1)  1) 


1)     O 


i 


Eusapia  Palladino 


195 


serves  to  indicate  that  the  phenomena  obtained  were  genuine, 
and  that  they  depend  on  other  conditions  than  those  which 
would  facih'tate  fraud. 


SEANCE    5 

After  the  fourth  seance  we  were  joined  from  England  by 
Mr.  W.  W.  Baggally,  who  shared  in  every  seance  thence- 
forward until  the  close  of  the  series.  We  had  also  invited 
to  our  fifth  seance,  which  took  place  on  December  2,  1908, 
Mr.  Gibson,  who,  however,  merely  sat  at  the  opposite  end  of 
the  table  from  Eusapia,  at  no  time  assumed  control,  and  took 
no  active  part  in  the  control  of  the  phenomena.  The  seance 
commenced  at  9.44  p.  m.,  in  a  good  light,  F.  controlling  the 
left  side  of  Eusapia  and  I  the  right.     Various  raps  and  tilts 


Position  I 


G 

0 


B 


'Position  II 

E  P- 

# 

B   I 1  F 


G 

0 


[<j-  «   Mr  Gibson] 


of  the  table  occurred,  the  table  continuing  to  remain  on  two 
legs,  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  in  spite  of  our 
repeated  efforts  to  press  it  to  the  floor. 

At  10.18  I  resigned  my  position  of  control  to  Mr.  Bag- 
gally, who  retained  it  during  the  rest  of  the  seance.  Remark- 


196  Eusapia  Palladino 

able  tilts  continued  to  occur  on  the  two  legs  farthest  from 
Eusapia,  and  at  10.32  I  went  under  the  table  and  held  Eusa- 
pia's  feet  in  my  hands.  I  reported  that  I  could  feel  the  live 
foot  through  the  shoes,  and  knew  that  I  was  not  merely  hold- 
ing her  empty  shoes  in  my  hands.  Under  these  conditions, 
and  while  her  hands  were  securely  held  by  B.  and  F.,  the 
table  forcibly  tilted  on  two  legs  farthest  from  her. 

About  10.40  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet  blew  out  and  we 
all  felt  a  strong  breeze  coming  from  the  cabinet  and  blow- 
ing over  the  seance  table.  At  IO.52  strong  movements  of  the 
little  table  in  the  cabinet  took  place,  both  Eusapia's  hands 
being  well  held,  her  right  foot  being  on  B.'s  left  foot,  and 
her  left  leg  resting  across  F.'s  two  knees. 

At  1 1. 10  F.  and  I  both  saw  a  white  hand  come  over  the 
medium's  head,  moving  rather  slowly,  clench  its  fingers,  and 
recede  again  into  the  cabinet.  B.  and  G.  did  not  see  this  hand, 
owing  to  the  position  of  the  right-hand  curtain.  B.  and  F. 
were  both  securely  holding  the  medium's  hands  when  this 
occurred. 

At  1 1. 1 8  F.  and  I  both  saw  a  black  object  somewhat  re- 
sembling a  head  in  shape,  which  F.  described  as  "a  grotesque 
face  with  a  Jewish  nose,"  come  to  within  a  few  inches  of 
B.'s  face,  then  recede  quickly  into  the  cabinet.  Eusapia's 
head  was  resting  against  F.'s,  and  both  her  hands  securely 
held. 

Shortly  after  this,  the  following  interesting  incident  oc- 
curred : 

"11.22.     B.^     The  small  table  is  moving. 
"F.     She  clenched  my  right  hand  at  the  time  with  her  left 
hand  on  her  lap ;  her  left  foot  quite  clearly  on  my  right. 

*  In  this  seance,  besides  the  usual  symbols,  B  =  Baggally.     This  is  retained 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  series. 


Eusapla  Palladino  197 

"B.  Same  control  as  before.  The  small  table  rises  and 
touches  my  elbow,  while  I  am  perfectly  certain  that  her  right 
hand  is  on  my  left  hand  on  the  table,  and  I  can  feel  the  whole 
length  of  her  leg. 

"B.  The  small  table  is  again  moving.  The  same  con- 
trol. 

'T.  My  right  hand  was  on  her  two  knees,  and  her  left 
hand  in  mine,  visible,  and  close  to  me.  Legs  both  firmly  be- 
tween B.'s  and  mine,  as  I  have  felt  their  position  with  my 
hand, 

"11.25.     The  small  table  is  rising  again. 

"C.  The  small  table  is  put  right  on  to  the  seance  table. 
(Falling  down  again.) 

"B.     Control  perfect. 

"11.26.  C.  The  small  table  is  levitated  right  on  to  the 
seance  table  (and  again  falls  to  the  floor)  through  the  cur- 
tains, between  B.  and  the  medium.  It  rose  to  a  height  of 
two  and  a  half  feet  from  the  floor  and  is  now  resting  on  the 
seance  table." 


Two  or  three  minutes  later  I  reached  down  and  lifted  the 
small  table,  and  put  it  into  an  upright  position.  No  sooner 
had  its  feet  touched  the  floor,  however,  than  the  table  was 
com.pletely  levitated,  rising  up  forcibly  against  my  hand,  to 
the  height  of  about  six  inches.  F.  and  B.  verified  their  hand 
and  foot  control  and  found  them  perfect.  I  kept  my  hand 
flat  on  the  surface  of  the  table,  and  it  was  again  levitated, 
twice.  While  I  was  leaning  over,  with  my  hand  on  the  table, 
the  curtain  blew  out  strongly  and  brushed  against  my  face. 
Several  raps  occurred  on  the  wood  of  the  small  table.  It 
continued  to  tilt  back  and  forth,  and  at  11.36,  I  alone  having 
my  right  hand  on  the  small  table,  it  tilted  violently  to  the 
right,  as  though  in  response  to  a  forcible  pressure  from  one 
side.  At  the  moment  this  was  taking  place,  the  medium,  in 
trance,  was  leaning  completely  back  in  F.'s  arms,  her  body 


198  Eusapia  Palladino 

being  encircled  by  them.  His  right  hand  was  on  her  two 
knees,  her  left  hand  was  visible  on  the  table,  and  her  right 
hand  on  the  opposite  corner.  Her  right  foot,  resting  on  B.'s, 
was  swinging  backward  and  forward  under  her  chair — B. 
continuously  following  it  with  his  left  foot. 

At  12.06  A.M.  a  forcible  tilt,  followed  by  a  complete 
levitation  of  the  table,  occurred  under  excellent  conditions. 
I  quote  from  the  record  in  order  that  the  reader  may  see 
the  precautions  taken  by  us  to  guard  against  any  deception, 
or  the  possibility  that  the  medium  might  have  effected  these 
tilts  by  pressure  on  one  side  or  other  of  the  table,  or  by  her 
fingers,  thumbs,  or  wrists,  placed  over  the  edge. 

"12.06.     The  medium  stands  up. 

"F.  The  table  tilts  on  its  two  legs  farthest  from  me- 
dium. My  left  hand  is  under  the  left  table  leg.  I  passed 
my  hand  down  the  leg  also.  Her  left  hand  is  motionless  in 
mine. 

"C.  Her  right  hand  on  the  top  of  the  table.  I  am  pass- 
ing my  fingers  along  the  edge  of  the  table;  her  fingers  and 
wrists  are  well  above  the  edge. 

"B.     I  am  holding  her  right  hand. 

"F.  Both  hands  are  now  above  the  table.  I  was  between 
her  and  the  table.  I  pulled  the  table  toward  me,  and  it 
resisted  considerably  before  it  fell  down — this  after  her  hands 
had  left." 

Immediately  after  this,  a  complete  levitation  took  place. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  seance,  we  tested  the  cold  breeze 
that  issued  from  her  forehead — which  we  had  distinctly  felt 
during  the  last  few  minutes  of  the  seance.  I  examined  the 
famous  scar,  both  with  my  fingers  and  optically,  and  held 
my  hand  at  a  distance  of  about  three  inches  from  her  head. 
The  cold  breeze  was  distinctly  perceptible.  We  all  felt  this 
in  turn,  holding  Eusapia's  mouth  and  nose,  so  that  she  could 


Eusapia  Palladino 


199 


not  breathe.  We  held  our  own  breaths,  and  again  placed  our 
hands  over  the  famous  scar.  We  felt  the  breeze  as  distinctly 
as  ever — it  being  considerably  colder  than  the  temperature  of 
the  room.  Although  it  was  clear  to  us  that  this  was  objec- 
tive in  character,  we  determined  to  demonstrate  this  fact  at 
our  next  seance.  Our  experiments  will  be  detailed  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  next  sitting,  together  with  the  remarkable 
results  we  obtained. 


SEANCE  6 

The  sixth  seance,  which  was  perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
of  the  whole  series,  was  held  on  the  evening  of  Decem- 
ber 4th — only  the  members  of  the  committee — Messrs. 
Feilding,  Baggally,  and  myself  being  present.  For  more 
than  an  hour  and  a  half  no  important  phenomena  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  tilts  of  the  table  took  place,  until  11.35. 
when  B.  was  touched  for  the  first  time  upon  his  shoulder. 

Position  Throughout 

E  P 


He  was  controlling  the  right  side  of  the  medium  at  this 
seance,  I  the  left  side,  while  Mr.  Feilding  was  sitting  oppo- 
site Eusapia  at  the  other  end  of  the  table.     At  this  time, 


200  Eusapia  Palladino 

also,  a  square,  black  object,  resembling  a  head,  came  out  of 
the  cabinet,  approached  to  within  a  few  inches  of  my  face, 
then  receded  instantaneously.  It  was  irregular  in  outline, 
and  I  described  it  as  looking  "like  a  cauliflower."  The  me- 
dium, who  had  gone  into  a  deeper  trance  than  she  had  entered 
at  any  previous  seance,  had  fallen  toward  me,  her  body 
resting  against  my  right  side,  her  head  resting  against  my 
head,  and  the  whole  of  her  left  hand  and  arm  being  under 
my  control.  Her  left  foot  was  also  under  my  feet;  her  right 
hand  was  held  by  Mr.  Baggally  on  the  table.  I  now  quote 
from  our  detailed  notes  portions  of  this  remarkable  seance: 

"11.41  P.M.     C.     I  am  touched  by  a  hand  on  the  head. 

"F.  I  saw  a  white  thing  come  out  from  the  curtains  over 
the  medium's  head  and  touch  C.'s  head. 

"C.  While  this  was  going  on,  the  medium's  head  was 
resting  against  mine,  my  right  arm  being  around  her  shoul- 
ders, her  left  hand  being  visible  on  mine  on  the  table,  her 
left  foot  pressing  on  my  right. 

"B.  Mine  exactly  the  same  as  before.  Her  right  hand 
was  resting  on  my  left  hand  on  the  table  under  the  curtain 
[which  had  blown  out]  and  her  right  foot  is  resting  on 
my  left  foot,  and  her  right  knee  is  pressing  against  my  left 
knee.  I  could  tell  it  was  her  right  hand  by  the  feeling 
of  the  relative  position  of  her  hand  to  her  fingers,  and  feel- 
ing the  thumb  in  the  palm  of  her  hand ;  and  that  it  was 
her  real  hand,  by  the  warmth  and  by  the  response  to  my 
squeezes.] 

"11.44.  The  medium  says:  'It  is  coming.  There!'  [Me- 
dium said  to  C. :  "Look,  he  will  come  there!"  indicating 
a  particular  spot  to  the  left  of  B.] 

"C.  I  am  touched  on  the  head  through  the  curtain,  twice, 
the  medium's  head  resting  against  my  head,  the  left  hand 
visibly  on  the  table  in  my  hand,  her  left  knee  pressing  against 
my  right  knee. 

"B.     Her  right  hand  is  resting  in  my  left  hand  on  the 


Eusapia  Palladino  201 

table,  and  her  right  foot  is  resting  on  my  left  foot,  and  I 
still  continue  pressing  my  knee  against  her  knee. 

"F.  I  saw  something  white  just  over  the  medium's  head. 
A  sort  of  flash  of  white.  The  medium's  head  was  motion- 
less. 

II. -,8.  C.  The  medium  moves  the  hand  held  in  B.'s 
harwi,  and  makes  him  feel  with  his  hand  that  we  are  holding 
different  ones. 

"B.     And  she  tells  m.e  she  is  going  to  do  it. 

"11.50.     C.     I  hear  something  moving  in  the  cabinet. 

"B.     The  curtain  is  thrown  over  my  side. 

"F.     It  has  come  as  far  as  my  end  of  the  table. 

"C.  Her  left  hand  held  my  right  firmly  on  her  knee,  her 
left  foot  resting  on  my  foot;  I  was  also  stroking  her  fore- 
head with  my  left  hand. 

"B.  Her  right  hand  on  my  left  hand,  on  her  right  knee. 
Her  right  foot  on  my  left  foot,  and  1  could  feel  the  whole 
length  of  her  leg  against  mine,  our  knees  touching. 

B.  and  C.  both  say  they  cangfeel  her  thumbs.  .  .  ." 

Under  these  conditions  of  control,  we  saw  a  white  hand 
several  times  appear  over  Eusapia's  head,  and  several  of  us 
experienced  touches.  I  was  hit  on  the  head  several  times 
by  a  hand,  of  which  I  could  feel  the  four  fingers  and  the 
thumb.  The  medium  said  she  was  getting  cold.  A  hand 
came  out  from  behind  the  cabinet,  and  pressed  B.  tightly  on 
the  shoulder.  He  could  feel  its  thumb  and  the  four  fingers. 
He  was  at  the  moment  holding  her  right  hand,  and  both  her 
knees,  while  I  was  holding  the  other  hand  by  the  thumb  on 
her  left  thigh.     I  resume  the  record  at: 

"12.05.  C.  The  medium  holds  my  right  leg  in  between 
her  two  legs  and  is  kicking  to  and  fro,  saying  she  wants  to 
bring  something  out  of  the  cabinet  with  her  foot,  but  her 
foot  remained  under  the  table  all  the  time. 

"B.     She  has  removed  her  foot  from  mine. 


202  Eusapia  Palladino 

"12.06.  F.  I  again  saw  a  white  thing  over  her  head.  I 
could  not  say  what  it  was. 

"C.  My  control  was  exactly  the  same  as  before.  I  also 
saw  the  white  thing.  The  curtain  blows  out  twice,  as 
though  pushed  by  some  substance.  I  can  see  the  round 
swelling  of  the  curtain.  Her  hand  was  pressing  firmly 
against  my  hand,  and  I  am  holding  it  by  the  thumb.  Both 
her  legs  around  my  right  leg. 

"B.  Her  right  hand  is  on  my  left  hand,  on  her  right 
knee. 

"F.  I  have  asked  the  medium  whether  I  could  feel  the 
hand  also.  F.  stands  to  the  left  of  C,  and  leans  over  with 
his  left  hand  outstretched  about  two  and  a  half  feet  above 
and  to  the  left  of  the  medium's  head.     Immediately  after: 

"F.  I  am  touched  by  something  directly  on  the  point  of 
the  finger. 

"12. 1 1  A.M.  F.  I  am  touched  again.  I  am  taken  hold 
of  by  fingers,  and  I  can  feel  the  nails  quite  plainly. 
[My  forefinger  was  pressed  hard  by  three  separate  fingers 
above  it  and  by  a  thumb  below,  through  the  curtain.  I  felt 
the  nails  quite  distinctly  as  they  pressed  into  my  finger.] 

"C.  Her  head  pressing  against  my  head.  I  am  abso- 
lutely holding  her  left  hand  on  the  table.  Both  her  legs 
are  around  my  right  leg  under  the  chair. 

"B.  I  am  absolutely  certain  that  her  right  hand  is  on 
my  left  hand  on  her  right  knee. 

"F.  I  am  touched  again,  grasped  this  time  as  though 
by  the  lower  part  of  a  thum-b  and  fingers.  .  .  . 

"C.  The  medium  has  taken  her  two  legs  from  around 
my  right  leg,  and  now  has  her  left  foot  on  my  right  foot. 

"B.  And  she  places  her  right  foot  on  my  left  foot,  and 
I  am  feeling  her  knee  with  my  knee. 

"C.  The  medium  rests  her  head  on  my  right  shoulder, 
and  is  pressing  against  it.  I  have  my  arm  around  her 
neck.  I  have  her  left  hand  in  my  left  hand  on  the  table.  I 
saw  the  curtain  blow  out  in  front  of  me. 

"B.     Medium's  right  hand  is  in  my  left.  .  .  . 

"C.     I  am  touched  on  the  head  by  a  hand.    At  this  mo- 


Eusapia  Palladino  203 

ment  the  medium's  head  is  pressing  against  my  head,  her  left 
hand  is  on  my  left  hand  on  the  table,  and  with  my  right  hand 
I  am  holding  the  whole  of  her  left  arm.  Her  left  foot  on 
my  right  foot. 

"B.  Medium's  right  hand  resting  on  my  left,  on  the 
table.  Right  foot  on  my  left  foot,  which  she  moves  back- 
ward and  forward,  and  I  follow  with  my  foot. 

"C.     My  foot  was  motionless." 

At  12.25  an  exceedingly  interesting  and  remarkable  phe- 
nomenon occurred.  My  right  foot  was  resting  on  its  heel 
under  the  table,  my  toes  pointing  upw^ard  at  an  angle  of 
about  fortj'-five  degrees.  In  the  angular  crutch  thus  formed 
Eusapia's  left  foot  w^as  resting.  She  suddenly  kicked  upward 
with  her  foot,  and  immediately  there  resounded  on  the  under 
surface  of  the  table  a  tremendous  blow.  It  seemed  as  though 
the  table  had  been  struck  by  a  mallet  or  kicked  with  terrific 
force.  Now  Eusapia's  foot  had  quitted  mine  but  the  small- 
est fraction  of  a  second,  and  I  felt  morally  certain  that, 
however  quick  she  might  have  been,  the  time  Interval  would 
not  have  been  sufficient  for  her  to  have  raised  her  foot  to  the 
height  required,  and  lower  it  again.  At  the  same  time  I 
could  not  present  this  subjective  feeling  as  proof  to  a  skep- 
tical outsider.  I  therefore  stretched  my  left  arm  across, 
under  the  table,  reaching  from  side  to  side,  so  that,  if  her  foot 
attempted  to  kick  the  table  a  second  time,  she  must  neces- 
sarily have  kicked  my  arm.  I  then  asked  her  to  repeat  the 
performance.  Her  foot  quitted  mine  for  an  instant  again, 
and  again  the  thunderous  rap  was  heard  on  the  under  side 
of  the  table^  but  her  foot  did  not  touch  my  arm.  I  am, 
therefore,  certain  that  the  blow  was  not  produced  by  the 
normal  process  of  kicking,  but  probably  by  some  projection 
of  nervous,  vital  force  from  the  toes  of  her  foot. 


204  Eusapla  Palladino 

A  minute  or  two  after  this,  Mr.  Feilding  rose  and  stood 
close  to  the  cabinet  curtains,  holding  his  hand  outstretched 
against  them.  He  felt  a  cold  breeze  about  his  hand.  At 
the  same  moment,  a  hand  came  out  under  cover  of  the  cur- 
tains, and  distinctly  pulled  my  hair.  At  this  moment  the 
medium's  head  was  resting  against  mine,  her  left  hand  and 
the  whole  of  her  left  arm  were  under  my  control.  Mr. 
Baggally  was  certain  that  he  was  holding  her  right  hand  upon 
the  table.     Both  her  feet  were  also  accounted  for. 

At  12.30  I  saw  a  head  come  out  from  the  cabinet  slowly, 
remain  visible  two  or  three  seconds,  within  six  inches  of  my 
face,  and  slowly  retire.  The  medium's  head  was  resting 
against  mine,  I  was  holding  her  left  hand  in  her  lap,  while 
Mr.  Baggally  was  guarding  her  right  hand. 

Mr.  Feilding  held  his  hand  about  three  feet  above  Eusa- 
pia's  head,  wishing  to  see  at  how  great  a  height  he  could 
be  touched.  Eusapia's  hands  were  clearly  held  in  ours,  and 
she  raised  her  own  and  our  hands,  held  in  hers  about  two 
feet  above  the  table,  saying  that  "it  helped."  F.  felt  a  cold 
breeze,  and  blows  on  his  wrist,  but  no  hand  grasped  his. 
Immediately  afterwards  I  perceived  a  head  coming  out  from 
between  the  cabinet  curtains,  between  Eusapia's  head  and 
mine.  She  had  removed  her  head  from  contact  with  my 
head,  and  it  vras  now  about  eight  inches  distant,  and  per- 
fectly visible. 

Various  touches  concluded  the  seance,  but  not  the  phe- 
nomena. After  we  had  turned  up  the  lights,  pulled  aside 
the  cabinet  curtains,  examined  the  cabinet  and  its  contents, 
and  were  discussing  the  seance,  B.  still  continued  to  feel 
hands  playing  about  with  his  back  and  side,  this,  be  it  ob- 
served, in  full  light,  and  when  Eusapia  ivas  ivearily  resting 
her  head  on  her  two  hands  on  the  table.     The  curtain  blew 


Eusapia  Palladino  205 

out  several  times  in  full  light,  and  under  the  same  conditions. 
Several  tilts  of  the  table  also  occurred.  We  then  asked 
"John"  to  try  and  pick  one  of  the  strings  of  the  small  guitar 
which  was  standing  in  the  corner  of  the  cabinet.  We  all 
stood  up,  including  the  medium,  who  was  about  six  inches 
in  front  of  the  cabinet  curtains,  her  skirt  not  touching  them, 
and  her  two  feet  controlled  by  those  on  either  side  of  her; 
her  hands  also  being  held.  The  light  was  sufficiently  good 
to  enable  us  to  read  small  print  with  ease.  We  stood  thus 
for  about  a  minute,  when  B.  and  M.  exchanged  remarks 
upon  some  subject  bearing  on  the  seance.  At  that  moment 
F.  and  I,  who  were  listening  intently,  clearly  perceived  a 
slight  twanging  sound  of  the  strings  of  the  guitar,  as  though 
fingers  were  playing  with  them  lightly,  but  were  unable  to 
pull  one  of  them  with  sufficient  force  to  make  it  resound.  The 
attempt  to  play  these  strings  was,  however,  quite  clear  and 
audible  to  F.  and  myself,  who  heard  it  at  the  same  instant. 

After  the  medium  had  resumed  her  chair,  we  felt  her  head 
with  our  hands,  to  see  if  the  cold  breeze  was  issuing  from 
her  forehead.  We  all  clearly  perceived  it  with  out  hands, 
placed  at  a  distance  of  about  three  inches  from  the  medium's 
head.  F.  held  his  hand  over  her  mouth  and  nose,  and  we 
all  did  likewise,  holding  our  noses  and  mouths  and  refrain- 
ing from  breathing,  and  the  breeze  was  still  distinctly  per- 
ceptible. B.  then  held  a  small  paper  flag  to  the  medium's 
forehead — her  nose  and  mouth,  as  well  as  our  own,  still  be- 
ing well  covered.  The  flag  blew  out  several  times,  and  then 
out  so  forcibly  that  it  turned  completely  over  and  wrapped 
itself  once  round  the  flagstaff,  to  which  it  was  attached ! 
The  objective  nature  of  this  breeze  was  thus  established — 
though  a  thermometer  held  to  her  head  failed  to  record  any 
lowering  of  temperature. 


2o6  Eusapia  Palladino 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  sixth  seance,  we  asked  the  medium 
if  we  might  search  her.  She  at  once  consented,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  take  off  her  clothes  one  by  one  and  hand  them  to 
us  for  examination.  There  was  certainly  no  slit  or  other 
contrivance  in  the  skirt  or  in  the  bodice,  and  we  also  exam- 
ined her  petticoats  and  other  undergarments  and  felt  over 
her  body  with  our  hands  through  the  few  remaining  clothes. 
So  far  as  we  could  discover,  nothing  was  concealed  about 
her  person  or  her  clothes. 

I  quote  the  following  extract  from  Mr.  Feilding's  Note, 
made  the  day  after  the  seance,  since  it  expresses,  more  or 
less,  the  view  of  all  of  us  who  participated  in  these  seances. 
He  says  in  part: 

"After  the  sixth  seance,  for  the  first  time  I  find  that  my 
mind,  from  which  the  stream  of  events  had  hitherto  run  off 
like  rain  from  a  mackintosh,  is  at  last  beginning  to  be  capable 
of  absorbing  them.  For  the  first  time  I  have  absolute  con- 
viction that  our  observation  is  not  mistaken.  I  realize  as  an 
appreciable  fact  in  life  that,  from  an  empty  curtain,  I  have 
seen  hands  and  heads  come  forth,  and  that  from  behind  that 
empty  curtain  I  have  been  seized  by  living  fingers,  the  ex- 
istence and  position  of  the  very  nails  of  which  were  percep- 
tible. I  have  seen  this  extraordinary  woman  sitting  outside 
the  curtain,  held  hand  and  foot,  visible  to  myself,  by  my 
colleagues,  immobile,  except  for  the  occasional  straining  of  a 
limb,  while  some  entity  within  the  curtain  has  over  and  over 
again  pressed  my  hand  in  a  position  clearly  beyond  her  reach. 
I  refuse  to  entertain  the  possibility  of  a  doubt  about  it,  or 
that  we  were  the  victims  of  an  hallucination.  I  appreciate 
exactly  the  fact  that  ninety-nine  people  out  of  a  hundred  will 
refuse  to  entertain  the  possibility  of  a  doubt  that  it  could  be 
anything  else,  and,  remembering  my  own  belief  of  a  very 
short  time  ago,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  complain,  though  I  shall 
unquestionably  be  annoyed  when  I  find  that  to  be  the  case. 
,  .  .  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  read  the  notes  of  C.  and 


Eusapla  Palladino  207 

B.  The  former  has  apparently  submitted  with  the  same 
completeness  as  myself  to  the  evidence  of  facts.  B.,  who  is 
evidently  passing  through  the  same  stages  as  I  did  in  my 
earlier  seances,  toys  with  the  suggestion  of  an  apparatus,  by 
way  of  easing  his  mind.  It  would  be  an  interesting  problem 
to  set  before  a  manufacturer  of  conjuring  machines  to  de- 
vise an  apparatus  capable  of  producing  alternately  a  black, 
flat,  profile  face,  a  square  face  on  a  long  neck,  and  a  'cello- 
like face  on  a  warty,  knobby  body,  two  feet  long.  Also  a 
white  hand  with  movable  fingers,  a  yellowish  hand,  and  a 
hand  invisible  altogether — all  these  for  use  outside  the  cur- 
tain. Further,  for  use  within,  a  hand  with  a  practicable 
living  thumb,  and  fingers  having  nails,  capable  of  reaching 
high  above  the  medium's  head,  of  patting,  hitting,  and  pulling 
hair,  and  of  so  vigorously  grasping  B.  by  the  coat  as  to  up- 
set him  into  the  cabinet.  Our  manufacturer  must  so  con- 
struct the  apparatus  that  it  can  be  actuated,  unseen  by  a 
somewhat  stout  and  elderly  lady,  clad  in  a  tight,  plain  gown, 
who  sits  outside  the  curtain,  held  visibly  by  hand  and  foot, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  escape  the  observation  of  two  practical 
conjurers,  clinging  about  her,  and  on  the  lookout  for  its 
operation.  It  must  further  be  of  such  dimensions  as  to  be 
concealed  about  the  ladj'',  while  parading  herself  for  inspection 
upon  a  chair  clad  in  her  stays  and  a  short  flannel  petticoat, 
and  it  must  have  the  property  of  penetrating  matter  suffi- 
ciently well  to  be  able  to  emerge  from  its  hiding  place,  either 
through  the  two  plain  skirts  (apart  from  the  flannel  petti- 
coat) and  through  a  close  bodice,  with  a  waist  belt  so  tight 
that  I  cannot  get  my  finger  in,  making  no  mention  of  the 
stays." 


SEANCE  7 

Our  seventh  seance  occurred  on  the  evening  of  Decem- 
ber 7th.  Finding  that  there  was  a  tendency  on  the  part 
of  "the  powers  that  be"  to  upset  the  table  in  the  cabinet  when 
bringing  it  on  to  the  seance  table,  thereby  turning  all  the 


2o8 


Eusapla  Palladino 


musical  instruments  upon  it  over  on  to  the  floor,  we  secured 
the  table  firmly  by  means  of  rope  fastened  to  staples, 
driven  into  the  floor,  in  such  a  manner  that  it  could  not  be 
lifted  except  by  the  exertion  of  an  immense  force,  which 
would  either  snap  the  rope  or  pull  the  iron  staples  out  "by 
the  roots." 

Po5fTiON     I 

e  P. 


c 


r 

9 


Soon  after  the  seance  began  a  phenomenon  occurred  which 
has  frequently  been  observed  by  others,  viz:  the  blowing  out 
of  her  skirt,  as  though  by  a  strong  air  current  from  within. 
The  skirt  slowly  bulged  out  six  or  eight  inches.  All  of  us, 
including  Eusapia,  watched  it  with  considerable  interest.  I 
asked  Eusapia  if  I  might  touch  this.  She  replied  "yes."  I 
put  my  hands  down,  and  felt  that  there  was  no  solid  substance 
under  the  skirt,  causing  it  to  inflate  in  this  manner.  We 
ascertained  with  our  hands  and  with  our  eyes  that  Eusapia's 
feet  were  both  securely  held,  and  that  they  were  not  produc- 
ing this  bulging  movement.  With  her  permission  we  then 
turned  back  her  skirts,  examined  the  leg  as  far  as  the  knee, 
and  the  skirt  and  petticoats  beneath  it.  We  found  no 
mechanism,  and  no  piece  of  apparatus,  the  operation  of  which 
could  in  any  way  account  for  the  facts.     We  let  the  dress 


Eusapia  Palladino 


209 


fall  again  and  it  immediately  began  to  inflate  as  before.  Eu- 
sapia then  told  Mr.  Feilding  to  sit  between  the  light  and  her 
skirt,  so  as  to  throw  it  into  shadow,  when,  she  said,  the 
bulging  would  become  stronger.  This  incident  is  interesting, 
serving  as  it  does  to  indicate  the  influence  of  light  upon  the 
production  of  the  phenomena.  These  swellings  continued 
for  some  minutes,  becoming  stronger  and  stronger,  and  finally- 
dying  away. 

Position  11 


B 


Shortly  after  lo  p.m.  I  exchanged  places  with  Mr. 
Baggall}',  who  retained  control  of  the  right  side  throughout 
the  remainder  of  the  seance.  Various  minor  phenomena  oc- 
curred during  the  first  hour,  including  tilts  of  the  table  of 
a  remarkable  character,  curtain  phenomena,  and  movements 
of  a  small  stool  outside  the  cabinet  without  apparent  cause. 
White  objects  also  appeared  over  her  head  and  shoulder, 
and  were  perceived  by  us — the  control  being  perfect.  The 
small  stool  came  farther  out  into  the  seance  room,  and  con- 
tinued to  move,  visibly,  in  response  to  waves  of  her  hand  in 
the  air  above  it. 

At  ii.oi  Eusapia  nodded  her  head  four  times  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  table,  but  without  touching  it.     Exactly  corre- 


210  Eusapla  Palladino 

spending  with  each  nod,  four  tremendous  bangs,  as  though 
made  by  a  large  wooden  mallet,  were  heard  on  the  table — 
so  loud  it  would  have  been  Impossible  to  duplicate  it  without 
some  mechanical  contrivance,  such  as  a  hammer.  A  minute 
later  she  said  she  would  try  to  levitate  the  table,  and  a  par- 
tial levitation  resulted. 

At  11.07  we  asked  "John"  to  show  himself  outside  the 
cabinet  curtains.  Four  tilts  of  the  table,  meaning  "talk," 
responded.  We  spoke,  however,  very  little,  but  paid  close 
attention  to  the  curtains.  In  a  moment,  something  misty 
and  black  shot  out  about  eighteen  inches  from  the  cabinet, 
close  to  Mr.  Baggally's  head.  It  came  and  went  so  quick- 
ly, however,  that  we  could  not  distinguish  what  it  was.  A 
few  minutes  later,  we  heard  the  table  in  the  cabinet  lifted 
a  fraction  of  an  inch  off  the  floor  and  then  released  again, 
coming  down  with  a  bang.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
table  had  been  securely  fastened  down  with  ropes,  and  that 
it  was  impossible  to  move  it.  A  very  considerable  force  must 
have  been  exercised  to  lift  it  off  the  floor  at  all — certainly 
more  than  Eusapia  could  have  brought  to  bear  with  one  or 
even  with  two  hands  free.  We  explained  to  "John"  that  since 
he  had  always  upset  the  table  and  the  instruments  upon  it 
in  former  seances,  we  had  tied  it  to  the  floor  on  this  occa- 
sion, since  we  wished  him  to  finger  and  to  bring  out  to  us  the 
various  small  objects  placed  upon  it. 

At  11.20  a  remarkable  manifestation  took  place — one  of 
the  most  remarkable  of  all,  perhaps — the  description  of  which 
I  quote  from  our  detailed  record : 

"C.  A  bell  from  the  cabinet  is  lifted  from  the  table 
through  the  curtains  and  put  upon  the  medium's  head  and 
remains  there. 

"F.     The  left  hand  was  visibly  in  my  right  all  the  time  on 


Eusapia  Palladino  211 

the  table,  and  I  heard  the  bell,  which  had  been  on  the  table 
in  the  cabinet,  began  to  ring,  and  then  it  suddenly  appeared 
outside  the  curtain  and  came  over  the  medium's  head,  and 
it  hung  there  and  went  on  ringing.  She  told  me  it  was  tied 
to  her  head.  I  felt  with  my  fingers  and  felt  something  like 
muslin  tying  it  to  her  hair.  As  I  was  looking  at  it,  I  suddenly 
saw  a  white  thing,  which  I  tliought  was  the  medium's  right 
hand  come  to  untie  the  bell,  because  it  was  uncomfortable, 
ring  it  hard,  and  throw  it  on  to  the  seance  table.  This  was 
within  one  foot  of  my  nose.  I  could  see  the  medium's  face 
perfectly. 

"B.  I  saw  the  bell  come  out  and  lie  on  the  medium's 
head,  and  also  saw  it  thrown  from  her  head  on  to  the  table. 
During  the  whole  of  this  phenomenon  her  right  hand  was 
resting  on  my  left  hand  on  the  table,  and  her  right  foot  on 
my  left  foot." 

During  the  next  few  minutes  indefinable  white  objects 
continued  to  appear  over  the  medium's  head — under  excel- 
lent test  conditions — and  when  her  hands  and  feet  were 
securely  held.  A  brilliant,  bluish-green  light  was  perceived, 
which  lasted  about  two  seconds.  The  next  minute  a  simi- 
lar light  came  outside  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet  and  was 
seen  to  be  resting  in  Eusapia's  lap.  The  table  rapped  for 
less  light.  A  brilliant  luminous  point  was  seen  within  the 
cabinet  about  two  and  a  half  feet  from  Eusapia,  bluish  green 
in  color.  Another  light  of  a  slightly  different  character  ap- 
peared the  next  minute — this  time,  however,  a  small  spark- 
ling light,  about  four  or  five  inches  above  her  head. 

We  asked  Eusapia  to  endeavor  to  obtain  an  impression  of 
a  hand  in  our  clay,  which  we  had  placed  in  readiness  on  the 
small  table.  She  felt  F.'s  hand,  which  was  resting  upon  the 
seance  table  as  though  she  were  feeling  the  clay  with  hers, 
and  replied  that  the  clay  was  "too  wet." 

At  this  point,  Eusapia  informed  us  that  some  one  was  com- 


212  ,Eusapia  Palladino 

ing  out  to  kiss  Mr.  Baggally.  The  curtain  swelled  out  toward 
him  and  a  clicking  sound  was  made  close  to  his  face.  It  did 
not  sound  in  the  least  like  a  kiss,  however,  which  she  had  said 
it  was,  but  exactly  like  the  sound  one  would  make  were 
the  thumb  and  middle  finger  nails  clicked  together.  This 
was,  of  course,  a  highly  suspicious  circumstance,  and  we  so 
regarded  it,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  we  repeatedly  verified 
the  control  of  the  hands,  and  could  even  see  them  lying  up- 
on the  table  while  this  phenomenon  was  in  progress. 

A  small,  black,  square  object  then  came  out,  which  Eusa- 
pia  said  was  "the  head  of  a  man  clean  shaven."  It  did  not 
resemble  a  head,  however,  and  was  far  too  small  for  the  head 
of  anybody.  Mr.  Feilding  complained  to  Eusapia  that  it  did 
not  look  in  the  least  like  a  head,  and  that  it  was,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  "an  outrage  upon  humanity."  Eusapia  said :  "We 
will  try  again."  The  black  thing  thereupon  came  out  the 
second  time,  somewhat  larger  than  before,  but  still  not  hav- 
ing any  resemblance  to  a  human  profile.  It  retired  imme- 
diately, and  we  could,  in  fact,  catch  but  a  fleeting  glimpse 
of  it. 


SEANCE  8 

It  will  be  remembered  that  we  had  partially  searched 
Eusapia  at  the  conclusion  of  the  sixth  seance.  We  did  not 
feel,  however,  that  our  search  had  been  strict  and  thorough 
• — such  a  search  as  would  enable  us  to  say  with  confidence 
that  nothing  was  concealed  about  her  person ;  and  while  we 
ourselves  felt  assured  that  nothing  was  in  fact  concealed,  we 
had  to  have  evidence  such  as  would  convince  others  of  this 
fact.  We  desired  to  obtain  the  services  of  one  or  two  ladies 
to  make  a  thorough  and  proper  search,  and  we  accordingly 


Eusapia  Palladino 


213 


asked  Senora  Rocca  and  Miss  Crawford — the  two  daughters 
of  Air.  Marion  Crawford — to  attend  this  seance  and  super- 
vise the  searching  for  us.  There  were  also  present  at  this 
seance  Lord  Sudeley  and  Mr.  Ryan — so  that  we  had  an  ad- 
dition of  four  to  our  usual  number.  The  sitters  were  ar- 
ranged as  shown  in  the  diagram.  The  eighth  sitting  took 
place  in  the  usual  room,  on  the  evening  of  December  10, 
1908. 

Eusapia  was  taken  into  a  separate  room,  and,  before  the 
two  ladies,  she  completely  stripped,  and  handed  them,  one  by 
one,  her  clothes  for  inspection.  These  were  thoroughly  ex- 
amined, even  the  linings  of  the  bodice  and  the  skirt  being 
searched,  and  her  hair  was  taken  down  and  put  up  before 
them. 


Position  I 


P051TION    ll 


E  P 


EP 


5««J? 


• 

•         • 

M'SSC 

• 

5oRf? 

• 

ELEY  , 

• 

Lord  5 

Mi^'>C 


The  seance  began  at  10.30,  and  an  exceptionally  long  wait 
occurred  before  any  phenomena  of  interest  took  place.  At 
10.53  I  resigned  my  control  to  Mr.  Ryan,  to  see  if  this  might 
beneficially  influence  the  results.  But  it  was  not  until  past 
II  that  phenomena  began  to  be  noticed.  Slight,  and  then 
more  forcible  movements  of  the  curtain  were  the  first  mani- 
festations of  interest.  These  were  followed  by  several 
touches  under  conditions  of  good  control,  but  merely  dupli- 


214 


Eusapia  Palladino 


eating  phenomena  seen  at  previous  seances.     At  this  point 
F.  and  R.  change  places. 

'Position  HI  « 


F 
• 


^GR 


Miss  Cr 


At  11.55  we  saw  the  first  striking  manifestation.  The 
tin  trumpet,  which  had  rested  on  the  small  table  in  the  cabi- 
net, appeared  in  front  of  the  curtains,  about  a  yard  distant 
from  Eusapia,  and  crept  slowly  along  I\Ir.  Ryan's  arm  until 
it  arrived  on  the  seance  table.  A  square  white  patch  then 
appeared  over  Eusapia's  head.  Immediately  afterwards  the 
small  toy  piano  was  thrown  from  the  cabinet,  struck  Mr. 
Ryan  lightly  on  the  head  and  rolled  to  the  floor.  Eusapia 
was  at  this  moment  holding  Mr.  Ryan  by  the  hand,  her  right 
hand  being  held  by  Mr.  Feilding  on  her  lap.  Both  her  feet 
were  also  held. 

Various  lights  then  manifested,  and  a  white  object,  which 
was  described  at  the  time  as  resembling  "a  boiled  white 
cabbage,"  came  out  from  between  the  curtains  and  approached 
Mr.  Ryan.  Again,  something  tried  to  lift  the  small  table, 
but  finding,  apparently,  that  it  was  tied,  let  it  go  with  a 
bang. 

At  11.22,  after  the  appearance  of  another  white,  inde- 
finable object  over  the  medium's  head,  a  hand  appeared  at 
the  extreme  opening  of  the  left  curtain,  nearest  the  window, 


Eusapia  Palladino  215 

and  about  a  yard  distant  from  Eusapia.  This  hand  was  bear- 
ing the  plate  of  clay  which  we  had  placed  upon  the  small 
table,  hoping  for  impressions  of  hands  or  faces.  The  clay 
must  have  been  lifted  first  of  all  from  the  small  table,  to  the 
position  at  the  opening  of  the  curtains,  where  it  was  seen 
by  us. 

The  hand  then  moved  slowly  downward  and  deposited  the 
plate  of  clay  on  the  seance  table,  taking  fully  four  or  five 
seconds  in  its  passage.  The  hand  then  seemed  to  disappear. 
This  phenomenon  was  clearly  visible  to  all  of  us,  and  it 
would  have  been  quite  impossible  for  Eusapia  to  have  dupli- 
cated it,  even  had  her  left  hand  been  free  (i),  because  she 
could  not  have  reached  so  far,  and  (2),  had  she  succeeded 
in  doing  so,  and  had  she  brought  the  plate  of  clay  on  to  the 
seance  table,  she  must  necessarily  have  gathered  in  toward  her 
the  left-hand  curtain,  round  which  her  arm  must  neces- 
sarily have  circled.  But  such  was  not  the  case.  I  noted 
especially  that,  while  the  white  hand  was  conveying  the 
object  from  B.i  to  C.i  the  curtain  remained  stationary. 
Mr.  Ryan  is  certain,  moreover,  that  he  was,  at  that  mo- 
ment, holding  Eusapia's  left  hand  in  the  middle  of  the 
table. 

Mr.  Baggally  then  climbed  up  on  to  the  seance  table  and 
stretched  his  hand  at  least  a  yard  over  Eusapia's  head,  resting 
it  against  the  cabinet  curtains.  We  felt  that,  were  he  touched 
under  these  conditions,  it  would  be  proof  positive  that  Eusa- 
pia had  not  produced  the  phenomenon  by  fraud — since  she 
could  not,  with  her  short  arms,  reach  so  high.  He  felt  a 
solid  substance  pressing  against  his  hand  on  two  or  three  oc- 
casions, however,  which  he  described  as  being  not  solid,  but 
resembling  the  pressure  of  wind. 

An  interesting  series  of  phenomena  began  at   12.47,   the 


2i6  Eusapia  Palladino 

account  of  which  I   quote  from  our  detailed  notes  as  fol- 
lows : 

"R.^     Somebody  nudged  me  in  the  ribs  on  the  right  side. 

"C.  A  solid  substance  pushes  against  my  hand.  I  am 
touched  on  the  left  arm. 

"F.  Her  right  hand  is  two  feet  above  the  table  in  my  left 
hand. 

"R.     Noises  in  the  cabinet. 

"F.  She  taps  with  her  right  hand  on  mine,  and  the  tam- 
bourine shakes  synchronously  inside  the  cabinet.  Her  head 
close  to  me  and  visible.    The  same  thing  has  happened  again. 

"R.  She  grips  my  hand,  both  resting  upon  the  table, 
her  foot  pressing  mine  firmly. 

"C.  The  bell  rings,  and  has  been  brought  on  to  the 
top  of  the  medium's  head  from  the  cabinet  and  remains 
there. 

"F.  I  was  holding  her  right  hand  on  the  top  of  the 
table,  I  saw  the  bell  arrive  on  her  head.  I  hold  the  bell 
up  against  the  curtain  and  ask  John  to  take  it  from  me. 
I  was  holding  my  hand  about  a  foot  from  her  head  and  to- 
ward the  curtain,  with  my  fingers  holding  it  so  that  they 
projected  beyond  the  bell  toward  the  curtain.  Three  or 
four  fingers  took  hold  of  the  bell  and  shook  it  in  my  hand. 
I  felt  the  pressure  on  my  fingers,  [This  is  not  a  strictly 
accurate  description.  The  fingers  took  hold  of  my  fingers. 
I  felt  them  distinctly  as  living  fingers  through  the  curtain. 
They  held  my  fingers  tight,  and  shook  my  hand,  and  with 
it  the  bell,]" 

Immediately  after  this  several  touchings  occurred,  the  cur- 
tain blew  out  toward  me,  brushed  against  my  face,  and  some- 
thing hit  me  through  the  right-hand  curtain,  I  was  then 
pushed  through  the  curtain  and  a  solid  substance  cam.e  out 
from  the  cabinet  and  struck  me, on  the  face.  A  small  ob- 
ject then  came  out  past  me  and  landed  on  the  seance  table. 

'  In  this  sitting,  R  =  Ryan. 


Eusapia  Palladino  217 

These  phenomena  followed  so  rapidly  on  one  another  that  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  dictate  the  control.  F.  and  R.  both 
assert,  however,  that  the  hands  under  their  supervision  were 
securely  held  throughout  this  series  of  remarkable  manifesta- 
tions. 

While  I  was  standing  at  least  a  yard  in  front  of  the  cur- 
tain, a  hand  came  out  and  touched  my  hand.  I  could  feel 
the  texture  of  the  skin.  F.  was  touched  on  the  left  cheek 
by  a  hand  through  the  curtain,  while  the  medium's  right 
hand  was  resting  firmly  in  his  left  and  while  she  was  grasp- 
ing the  forefinger  of  Mr.  Ryan's  hand  with  her  left  hand — 
fingers  and  thumb  encircling  it. 

At  1.05  A.M.  a  very  unusual  manifestation  occurred,  the 
only  one  of  its  kind  we  saw,  and  which  has  been  very  rarely 
recorded  in  the  past  history  of  this  case.  It  throws  con- 
siderable light  on  many  of  the  historical  phenomena,  render- 
ing highly  possible  manifestations  which  have  hitherto  been 
considered  incredible.     I  quote  from  our  detailed  record : 

"C.  Two  raps  are  heard  in  the  cabinet.  Medium  says 
she  is  tired. 

"F.  A  white  hand  has  appeared  over  her  head.  Oh!  it 
has  brought  a  cord.  [A  small  coil  of  cord  was  on  the  top  of 
the  medium's  head,  the  end  of  it  descending  to  her  left.  F. 
handed  it  to  R.  and  asked  him  to  trace  it  down.] 

"F.  It  is  fastened  to  something.  Somebody  is  pulling  it. 
[R.  traced  it  down  and  found  it  attached  to  the  rung  of  his 
chair.] 

"F.  Two  minutes  before  this  had  happened  she  had  asked 
me  to  feel  the  cord  on  her  left  leg,  to  see  whether  it  was 
fastened.  [We  had  tied  her  feet  to  our  chairs  with  rope  at 
the  commencement  of  the  seance.]  I  put  my  finger  through 
the  loop  on  her  left  leg  and  found  that  the  cord  was  still 
round  it.  I  did  the  same  thing  to  the  right  leg.  Shortly 
after  that,  I  put  my  left  hand  on  the  medium's  head  and 


2i8  Eusapia  Palladino 

she  said  she  was  going  to  rest.  I  continuously  kept  my  right 
hand  on  her  left.  There  then  appeared  a  white  hand  through 
the  curtain,  which  dropped  something  on  the  top  of  her  head. 
//  proved  to  be  the  cord  ivliich  had  previously  been  fastened 
to  the  left  leg.  [I  had  tied  the  medium's  left  leg  at  the  nar- 
rowest part  of  the  ankle  with  this  cord.  I  made  four  reef 
knots.  The  other  end  of  the  cord  I  had  attached  to  the  leg 
and  rung  of  the  controller's  chair,  in  the  same  manner — with 
four  reef  knots — pulled  tightly.     B.] 

"[F.  It  did  not  occur  to  me  when  the  medium  asked  me 
to  verify  the  fastening  of  her  feet  two  minutes  before  this  in- 
cident to  do  more  than  ascertain  that  the  ropes  were  still  tied 
round  her  ankle,  which  was  so,  nor  did  it  occur  to  me  when 
the  coil  dropped  on  her  head,  that  it  could  possibly  be  the 
same  cord.  When  traced  by  R.  to  the  left  leg  of  his  chair, 
her  leg  was  found  free.  The  rope  was  of  such  a  kind  as  to 
be  difficult  to  untie.  A  similar  knot  on  the  other  foot  took 
me  about  two  minutes  to  untie — using  both  hands.  Even 
supposing  that  the  medium  had  freed  her  hand  from  R., 
unperceived  and  unremembered  by  him,  it  is,  to  me,  in- 
conceivable that  she  could  have  stooped  down  and  untied  the 
knot  with  her  left  hand  between  the  time  that  I  verified  the 
fastenings  and  the  appearance  of  the  rope  on  her  head,  un- 
noticed by  R.  and  me — the  light  being  amply  sufficient  to 
follow  any  action  of  the  kind.]  Several  touches  and  a  par- 
tial levitation  of  the  table  ended  the  seance." 


SEANCE  9 

Our  ninth  seance  was  held  on  the  evening  of  December 
13,  igo8 — the  conditions  being  the  same  as  the  last  seance, 
with  the  exception  that  Messrs.  Feilding,  Baggally,  and  my- 
self were  alone  present.  At  the  last  seance,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, we  waited  for  more  than  two  hours  before  any 
manifestations  of  note  took  place.  At  this  seance,  on  the 
Other  hand,  hardly  had  we  seated  ourselves  at  the  table  than 


Eusapia  Palladino 


219 


manifestations  began !  Eusapia  allowed  us  to  tie  up  her  hands 
and  her  feet  with  rope — though  she  had  angrily  refused  to  al- 
low us  to  do  so  when  we  had  asked  her  at  the  previous 
sitting.  The  seance  began  in  very  good  light  at  10.12  P.M. 
I  quote  from  our  detailed  record — the  initial  stages  of  this 
remarkable  seance : 

Position  Throughout 


"Tilts  begin  almost  immediately. 

"F.     Table  tilts  on  the  legs  farthest  from  her. 

"10.13.     Complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"C.  The  right  hand  resting  on  the  table,  touching  mine. 
My  wrist  being  between  hers  and  the  edge  of  the  table.  Her 
right  foot  in  contact  with  my  right  foot.  I  saw  a  clear  space 
of  about  nine  inches  between  her  dress  and  the  leg  of  the 
table. 

"B.  Complete  levitation  of  the  table,  for  a  second  time. 
[During  dictation  of  B.'s  control.] 

"B.  My  right  hand  on  both  her  knees.  Her  left  foot 
touching  my  right  foot. 

"10.14  P.M.  F.  Complete  levitation  for  the  third  time 
in  full  view  of  us  all. 

"B.     Another  complete   levitation! 

*T.  Both  medium's  hands  completely  on  top  of  the 
table,  touching  ours. 


220  Eusapia  Palladino 

"C.  I  can  see  a  clear  space  of  about  eight  Inches  between 
her  dress  and  the  table  leg  all  the  way  down. 

"B.  Right  hand  on  her  two  knees.  My  right  foot  against 
her  left  foot,  and  I  can  see  between  her  left  leg  and  the 
table  leg. 

"10.16  P.M.     Another  complete  levitation. 

"F.  Right  hand  off  the  table  altogether.  Left  hand  on 
B.'s,  pulling  the  table  up  with  it,  which  appeared  to  stick 
to  it. 

"10.17.     Another  complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"F.  First  of  all  a  partial  levitation,  which  lasted  about 
ten  seconds,  then  a  complete  levitation  off  all  four  legs.  Right 
hand  touching  the  table,  left  hand  on  B.'s.  She  raised  her 
hand  from  the  table  and  the  table  slid  sideways  in  the  air 
under  B.'s  hands. 

"B.     Right  hand  across  both  her  knees. 

"C.  Her  right  hand  clenched  at  first  on  the  table,  within 
three  inches  of  my  eyes.  My  left  hand  across  both  her  knees. 
Right  foot  on  my  left  foot.  I  can  clearly  see  a  space  of  at 
least  six  inches  between  her  dress  and  the  table  leg  all  the 
way  down. 

"B.  My  right  knee  against  her  left  knee.  My  right  foot 
against  her  left  foot,  and  I  see  a  clear  space  between  her  leg 
and  the  table  leg. 

"[The  light  was  sufficient  to  read  small  print  with 
comfort,  at  the  farther  end  of  the  room..  The  hands  were 
alwaj^s  plainly  visible  and  always  situated  so  that  it  was  clear 
that  the  table  was  not  lifted  by  them.  The  extreme  rapidity 
of  the  levitations  made  complete  description  almost  impos- 
sible and  it  was  decided  to  confine  the  description  of  the  con- 
trol to  the  feet — the  control  of  the  hands  being  obvious  to 
all  and  description  rendered  unnecessary.  Medium  was 
then  told  that  enough  levitations  had  been  produced,  but 
was  asked,  before  proceeding  to  further  phenomena,  to  pro- 
duce one  more  with  her  feet  actually  held  under  the  table. 
F.  went  under  table.] 

"F.     I  have  got  my  hands  on  both  feet. 

"C.     The  table  tilts  away  from  her.     My  left  hand  on 


Eusapla  Palladino  221 

both  her  knees.  Both  hands  being  flat  on  the  table  In  full 
view  of  us.  Her  wrists  not  over  the  edge.  Five  raps  of 
table  ask  for  less  light. 

"Light  No.  2. 

"F.  I  have  now  got  my  hands  on  the  floor  against  the 
table  legs,  and  inside  them.  Her  t'.vo  feet  are  between  my 
hands.     Five  more  tilts  of  the  table  ask  for  still  less  light. 

"Light  No.  3. 

"10.23.     Complete  levitation  of  the   table. 

"Immediately  before  levitation  took  place,  medium  asked 
F.  if  he  had  got  her  feet  all  right. 

"F.  I  had  my  hands  on  the  floor,  between  her  legs  and 
the  table  legs.  Her  feet  and  the  whole  of  her  dress  were  in 
between  my  hands, 

"C.  My  left  hand  on  her  right  knee,  her  right  hand 
being  on  the  top  of  my  left  hand,  and  it  did  not  leave  it. 

"B.  My  right  hand  on  her  left  knee.  Her  left  hand  on 
the  top  of  my  right  hand.  My  foot  was  away  from  her  foot, 
but  F.  had  control  of  her  feet." 


After  this  series  of  remarkable  levitation  phenomena,  \lr. 
Feilding  came  out  from  under  the  table.  Movements  of  ob- 
jects in  the  cabinet  occurred  one  minute  after,  under  condi- 
tions of  perfect  control. 

The  next  minute,  the  small  stool,  which  had  remained  out- 
side the  cabinet,  and  which  was  about  a  j'ard  distant  from 
Eusapla,  now  moved  of  its  own  accord  and  approached  her. 
On  my  side  I  was  continually  holding  her  right  liand  and 
foot  securely;  and  B.,  on  his  side,  paid  strict  attention  to  the 
hand  and  foot  under  his  care.  In  spite  of  our  utmost  pre- 
cautions, however,  the  small  stool  continued  to  move  about 
over  the  floor  in  response  to  movements  of  Eusapia's  hands, 
made  above  it.  Eusapia  then  placed  B.'s  hands  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  stool,  and  rested  her  hand  on  his.  The  stool  rose 
into  the  air  several  times — only  B.'s  hands  resting  on  it.  Eusa- 


222  Eusapia  Palladino 

pia  removed  her  hand  from  the  back  of  B.'s  hand  altogether, 
and  the  stool  again  rose  completely  into  the  air  about  six 
inches.  During  these  movements  and  levitations  of  the  small 
stool  we  repeatedly  ascertained  that  Eusapia's  feet  were  well 
held,  and  that  they  did  not  in  any  way  approach  the  stool. 
One  of  us  rose,  walked  to  the  stool,  placed  his  hands  complete- 
ly round  it,  along  the  carpet  and  between  the  stool  and  the 
body  of  the  medium.  We  thereby  ascertained  that  there  was 
no  thread,  hair,  or  connection  between  the  stool  and  the  me- 
dium's body.  After  we  had  done  so,  however,  it  continued 
to  move  about  in  response  to  waves  of  Eusapia's  hand,  made 
in  the  air,  at  a  distance  of  some  two  feet  above  the  stool. 
Several  touches  were  experienced  by  us  shortly  after  this — 
the  first  touches  we  had  experienced  at  any  of  the  seances 
outside  the  cabinet  curtains  and  in  front  of  the  medium.  At 
11.06  I  thought  I  detected  an  attempted  substitution  of  feet 
and  bent  down  to  verify  the  fact.  I  forgot  that  the  me- 
dium's feet  had  been  tied  to  ours  with  rope,  and  the  moment 
I  became  dissatisfied  with  the  foot  control,  I  proceeded  to 
ascertain  the  exact  position  of  the  feet.  The  medium  be- 
came extremely  irritated,  and  woke  up  from  a  state  of  semi- 
trance  into  which  she  had  fallen.  She  said  that,  as  her  feet 
were  tied,  she  did  not  think  that  we  need  worry  so  particular- 
ly where  her  feet  were.  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  have  now  no 
doubt  that  I  was  excessively  hypercritical,  but  my  habitual 
skepticism  forced  me,  almost  unconsciously,  to  investigate  the 
instant  I  found  anything  out  of  place.  On  this  occasion,  how- 
ever, the  effects  proved  disastrous,  and  served,  I  believe,  to 
partially  ruin  a  seance  that  had  started  so  propitiously.  The 
medium  expostulated  for  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  and  it  was 
a  long  time  before  she  again  consented  to  resume  and  again 
attempted  to  go  off  into  the  trance  state. 


Eusapla  Palladino  223 

As  soon  as  the  seance  was  resumed,  the  small  stool  again 
began  its  movements  and  M.,  our  stenographer,  passed  his 
hands  completely  round  the  stool,  before  and  after  it  had 
moved,  in  response  to  movements  of  Eusapia's  hands.  In 
his  note  he  says: 

"I  got  up  and  examined  the  little  stool,  feeling  right  round 
it  and  saw  that  there  was  nothing  connecting  it  to  the  me- 
dium's dress.  As  I  was  about  to  resume  my  place,  I  saw  the 
little  stool  again  moving  and  stooped  down  to  watch  it.  It 
moved  in  little  jerks  about  a  foot  sideways.  When  it  had 
finished  I  again  put  my  hands  right  round  it  and  found  no  at- 
tachment. While  I  was  doing  this  the  stool  seemed  to  brush 
up  against  my  coat  sleeve  as  though  drawn  by  a  magnet.  I 
was  again  about  to  sit  down  when  the  stool  began  moving  for 
a  third  time  and  I  examined  it  again.  There  was  absolutely; 
no  possibility  of  there  being  any  attachment." 

Immediately  following  these  convincing  movements  of  the 
stool,  which  appeared  to  us  to  be  obtained  under  perfect 
test  conditions,  we  obtained  a  complete  levitation  of  the  table. 
The  conditions  of  this  levitation  were  extremely  good.  An 
outburst  of  phenomena  seemed  to  occur  just  at  this  period, 
which  I  quote  from  the  detailed  record : 

"11.50  P.M.     Complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"C.  Both  hands  were  on  the  top  of  the  table.  My  left 
hand  resting  on  her  right  knee.  Right  foot  on  her  left  foot 
firmly.  I  can  see  a  clear  space  between  her  dress  and  the  leg 
of  the  table  all  the  way  down. 

"B.  My  right  hand  on  her  left  knee.  ]\Iy  right  foot 
feeling  her  left  foot.  There  is  a  space  between  her  leg  and 
the  table  leg. 

"11.58  P.M.  F.  Standing  up  at  the  other  end  of  the 
table,  I  saw  her  make  gestures  with  her  right  hand  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  three  and  a  half  feet  from  the  small  stool. 


/ 


224 


Eusapla  Palladino 


Her  left  hand  being  motionless  in  B.'s,  on  his  corner  of  the 
table,  and  the  stool  advanced  in  little  jerks  toward  B. 

"C.  The  curtain  has  pushed  right  out  on  this  side  about 
three  feet. 

"B.     I  am  feeling  her  left  foot  with  my  right  foot. 

"C.  Control  the  same  as  before,  the  whole  of  the  me- 
dium's hand  being  visible.     [Still  light  No.  2.] 

"C.  The  curtain  has  again  pushed  out  about  two  feet. 
Her  right  hand  on  my  left  on  the  table.  Right  foot  on  my 
left  foot  firmly. 

"B.     Control  same  as  before,  hand  and  foot. 

"  1 2.01  A.M.  Partial  levitation  of  the  table.  Another 
partial  levitation  of  the  table,  almost  complete. 

"12.02  A.M.     The  curtain  blew  out. 

"C.     I  am  holding  my  hand  out  toward  the  curtain. 

"12.03.     Five  violent  tilts  of  the  table  ask  for  less  light. 

"12.04.  The  right  curtain  has  again  blown  out.  [Light 
No.  3.]" 

During  the  rest  of  the  seance,  under  perfect  conditions  of 
control,  we  all  of  us,  and  I  especially,  experienced  a  large 
number  of  remarkable  touches,  and  even  grasps  by  a  complete 
hand,  the  position  of  the  thumb  and  fingers  of  which  we  could 
plainly  define.  Scattered  throughout  the  sitting,  also,  were 
numerous  levitations,  blowings  out  of  the  curtains  of  the  cabi- 
net and  other  remarkable  manifestations.  I  quote  from  the 
record : 


"12.22.     Loud  noises  in  the  cabinet. 

"12.23.     Medium  asked  C.  if  he  had  been  touched. 

"C.  I  was  touched  through  the  curtain  as  if  by  a  hand. 
Her  right  hand  holding  my  left. 

"B.  Her  left  hand  holding  my  right  hand  on  her  left 
knee. 

"F.  Her  head  is  visible  to  me.  I  saw  the  curtain  come  out 
at  the  place  where  C.  was  touched. 

"12.25  A.M.     C.     I  was  touched  again  as  if  by  a  hand 


1 


I 


O 

^  E 


a:  —    n 

t     I -5  I 
<       III 


o      •- 


o  So 


Eusapia  Palladino  225 

through  the  curtain  on  the  wrist  of  my  right  hand  as  I  was 
stroking  the  medium's  forehead  with  it. 

"C.  I  am  touched  again  in  the  same  place.  Meanwhile 
I  have  her  right  hand,  of  which  I  feel  the  thumb  and  four 
fingers,  on  the  table. 

"B.     I  am  holding  her  left  hand  on  her  left  knee. 

"12.26.     Complete  levitation  of  the  table. 

"F.  Note  that  her  face  and  eyes  are  visible  to  me  over 
at  the  opposite  end  of  the  table." 

These  were  a  remarkable  series  of  touches,  especially  those 
on  the  back  of  the  hand  with  which  I  was  stroking  the  me- 
dium's forehead,  since  I  could  clearly  see  both  her  hands 
on  the  table  and  my  hand  was  only  a  few  inches  distant  from 
my  face  and  quite  visible.  But  still  more  remarkable  phe- 
nomena were  to  follow,    I  quote  again  from  our  record : 

"12.38.     Two  raps. 

"C.  I  am  grasped  through  the  curtain  by  a  complete 
hand.  At  that  time  her  right  foot  was  pressing  strongly 
against  mine.  Fingers  of  her  right  hand  pressing  on  my 
left  hand  on  the  table,  almost  in  the  center  of  it. 

"B.  Fler  left  hand  holding  my  right  hand  on  the  table. 
I  could  see  both  her  hands  at  the  time.  Her  left  foot  kick- 
ing against  my  right  foot. 

"12.43.  Medium  squeezes  on  C.'s  hand  and  movements 
in  the  cabinet  follow.     [Thumps  on  tambourine.] 

"B.  I  was  holding  her  left  hand  with  my  right  hand  on 
her  knee. 

"C.     Mine,   holding  medium's,   is  on   the   table. 

"B.  She  gives  three  squeezes  of  her  left  hand  in  my  right 
hand,  and  synchronizing  with  these  three  squeezes,  we  hear 
three  thumps  on  the  tambourine. 

"12.45.  C.  Corresponding  to  squeezes  of  the  medium's 
hand,  the  tambourine  is  thumped. 

"B.  My  right  hand  was  holding  medium's  left  hand,  and 
my  right  foot  was  on  her  left  foot.  ]\Iy  right  knee  pressing 
again  her  left  knee. 


i 


226  Eusapia  Palladino 

"C.  I  am  holding  medium's  right  hand  by  the  thumb 
on  the  table.     Her  right  foot  on  my  left  completely. 

"12.47.  F.  I  ask  'Carlo'  to  give  me  the  tambourine. 
[Medium  said  he  would  do  so,  and  I  moved  round  behind 
C.  F.] 

"B.  She  held  my  right  hand  over  the  table  in  front  of 
her  and  made  gestures  v/ilh  it  in  the  air  and  the  tambourine 
slid  along  the  floor. 

"C.  I  am  touched  again.  The  same  thing  has  happened 
again.  I  was  touched  three  times  with  fingers  on  my  left 
hand.  The  tambourine  then  jumped  up  about  ten  or  twelve 
times  inside  the  cabinet,  apparently  trying  to  get  to  the  edge 
of  the  curtain,  and  was  then  pushed  outside  the  cabinet.  I 
am  grasped  very  firmly  by  a  hand  through  the  curtain  on  my 
left  arm.  I  felt  the  medium's  right  hand  on  my  left  on  the 
table,  at  the  same  moment  that  the  tambourine  was  kicking 
about  inside  the  cabinet. 

"B.  I  am  holding  her  hand  on  the  table.  I  can  see  it 
quite  clearly. 

"12.51.     Medium  wishes  to  touch  C,  which  she  does. 

"C.  I  was  grasped  just  above  the  left  elbow  by  four 
fingers  and  a  thumb,  which  pressed  very  hard  indeed.  I  am 
touched  on  the  left  side  by  a  hand.  I  was  holding  both  the 
medium's  hands  in  both  of  mine,  and  she  was  squeezing 
tightly.  Her  right  foot  pressed  strongly  on  my  left  foot,  in 
contact  with  my  right. 

"B.  I  was  holding  the  wrist  of  her  left  hand  in  my  right 
hand  on  the  table  in  full  view  of  us  all  and  perfectly  visi- 
ble. My  right  knee  against  her  left  knee.  My  right  foot 
under  her  left  foot. 

"C.  I  am  holding  both  medium's  hands  in  both  of  my 
hands,  one  being  clearly  visible  and  one  on  the  table, 
under  the  curtain.    Absolute  control  of  right  foot  and  leg. 

"i  A.M.  C.  I  am  touched  on  the  face  by  a  hand 
through  the  curtain  as  the  m.edium  kicks  to  and  fro.  I 
am  again  touched  on  the  face  by  a  hand,  medium  having  both 
her  legs  round  my  left  leg.  Her  right  hand  holding  my  left 
on  the  table,  in  the  middle,  under  the  curtain. 


i 


Eusapla  Palladino  227 

"B.  Her  left  hand  holding  my  right  hand  on  the  table, 
which  I  see  clearly. 

"F.  Note  that  heads  are  visible  to  me.  I  am  standing 
up  between  C.  and  the  curtain,  holding  my  right  hand  on 
C.'s  shoulder. 

"1.03.  C.  I  was  touched  on  the  left  shoulder  strongly. 
Medium  had  both  her  legs  round  mine,  her  right  hand  hold- 
ing my  left  under  the  curtain,  in  the  middle  of  the  table. 

"B.  I  am  holding  her  left  hand  with  my  right  hand  on 
the  table. 

"1.05.  The  tambourine  jumps  up  apparently  about  twelve 
times,  as  if  trying  to  play  a  tune. 

"B.     She  squeezes  my  hand  synchronously,  in  tune  with  it. 

"F.  I  have  put  my  hand  between  the  tambourine  and 
the  medium's  knee.  [I  knelt  down  on  the  ground  and  felt 
right  round  the  tambourine,  which  was  lying  near  the  edge 
of  the  curtain,  behind  and  to  the  left  of  C.'s  chair.  There 
was  no  attachment. 

"C.  I  am  touched  on  the  left  arm  above  the  elbow.  Con- 
trol exactly  the  same  as  before. 

"1.06.  C.  The  tambourine  jumps  and  jerks  as  though 
ft  tried  to  get  on  to  my  lap.     Control  the  same  as  before. 

"B.     My  control  absolutely  the  same  as  before. 

"1.13.  All  stand  up.  F.  asks  'John'  if  he  can  make  an 
impression  on  the  clav.  Three  tilts  of  the  table  respond : 
'Yes.' 

"1.17.  The  medium  is  told  that  it  is  very  late,  and  that 
if  she  is  unable  to  do  anything  else,  she  must  go ;  but  she  re- 
plies: 'The  phenomena  are  not  fmishcd  yet.' 

"1.24.  Something  falls  over  behind  the  medium.  C. 
ascertains  that  it  is  the  medium's  chair.  IVIedium  says:  'Uo 
not  take  any  notice  of  that,  as  I  might  have  done  it  with  my 
foot.' 

"1.30.  Something  moved  in  the  cabinet.  Medium  says: 
'Please  note  that  I  did  not  move  at  all,  then.'  " 

[Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  the  medium  is  several 
times  asked  whether  she  would  not  finish.  For  sometime  she 
declines.    She  is  asked  whether  she  can  get  an  impression  on 


228  Eusapia  Palladino 

the  clay;  first  of  all  she  replied,  "They  said  'y^s,'  "  but  after 
long-continued  efforts,  she  said  she  felt  tired,  and  could  do 
no  more.] 

BELL    INCIDENT 

One  most  curious  incident  occurred  on  the  afternoon  of 
December  15th — on  the  evening  of  which  day  we  held  our 
ninth  seance.  A  remarkable  physical  phenomenon  (appar- 
ently) occurred,  in  the  presence  of  two  members  of  the  com- 
mittee only — Eusapia  not  being  present — and,  so  far  as  we 
could  discover,  paying  no  particular  heed  to  us  at  the  mo- 
ment. We  had  suspended  a  small  bell  inside  the  cabinet  by 
means  of  a  piece  of  string,  in  the  hope  that  "John"  might 
ring  it  during  the  seance.  So  far,  he  had  failed  to  do  so,  but 
on  this  memorable  afternoon,  the  bell  rang  of  its  own  ac- 
cord, swinging  violently  to  and  fro  on  its  suspending  string — 
without  apparent  cause,  and  while  only  Mr.  Baggally  and 
myself  were  in  the  room !  Indeed,  I  was  in  the  next  room 
at  the  time,  eating  an  orange,  if  I  remember  rightly,  while 
Mr.  Baggally  was  standing  at  the  table  in  the  center  of  the 
room,  smoking  his  pipe  and  working  glycerine  and  water  into 
the  clay  which  we  were  to  use  that  evening  in  our  attempt 
to  obtain  impressions  of  hands  and  faces.  I  subjoin,  here- 
with, the  original  notes  taken  at  the  time  by  us,  dated  and 
signed. 

icth  December,  IQ08. 

;|8.45  by  C.'s  watch. 

"At  a  certain  moment,  when  Mr.  Baggally  was  working 
up  our  clay  at  the  small  table  in  the  center  of  the  room,  C. 
being  in  the  next  room,  with  the  door  open,  the  small  bell, 
hanging  from  the  string  in  the  cabinet,  rang  violently.  It 
struck  against  the  wood  of  the  doorway — a  good  two  and 
one  half  feet  from  the  bell.    The  ringing  continued  for  sev- 


Eusapia  Palladino  229 

eral  seconds,  with  violence,  and  then  stopped.  B.  was  at  least 
nine  feet  from  the  bell  at  the  time  of  ringing  and  C.  could 
see  he  did  not  approach  it.  Nobody  else  was  in  the  room 
at  the  time.  As  soon  as  the  bell  ceased  ringing,  we  called  in 
Mr.  Ryan,  from  the  next  room,  who  opened  the  curtains 
and  saw  (as  did  we  all)  that  the  bell  was  still  swinging  on 
its  suspending  string.  The  cabinet  was  empty  save  for  a 
chair,  standing  inside  it.  We  all  three  heard  and  saw  this 
remarkable  bell  phenomenon. 

"  Signed:  W.  W.  Baggally, 

"  Hereward  Carrington." 

"I  was  adding  my  final  note  to  my  previous  evidence  when 
I  heard  the  bell  in  the  next  room  ring.  I  attached  no  im- 
portance to  this  (thinking  that  B.  and  C.  were  testing  the 
apparatus).  Mr.  Baggally  just  then  rushed  in,  made  me 
come  round  and  open  the  curtain.  I  then  saw  that  the  bell 
was  still  swinging  on  its  string.  I  noted  the  time  (deduct- 
ing -H  minute  for  time  in  transit)  as  twenty-eight  minutes 
to  nine  p.m.  Mr.  Baggally's  hands  were  covered  with  clay, 
which  he  was  puddling. 

,    ,     ,  "James  Ryan." 

"15/12/08."  -' 

"As  to  this  bell  incident,  I  can  express  no  opinion,  not 
having  been  present.  I  came  in  amidst  the  general  consterna- 
tion. It  is  infinitely  painful  to  me,  as  Hon.  Secretary  of  that 
most  staid  body,  the  S.  P.  R.,  to  record  the  state  of  emotion  in 
which  I  found  my  colleagues. 

"As  to  who  was  responsible  for  it,  we  shall  never  know. 
If  it  was  'John,'  he  reveals  a  sense  of  humor  on  which  he 
deserves  sincere  congratulation;  if  a  more  fleshly  jester,  the 
chambermaid  and  the  boots  must  divide  my  homage.  The 
only  way  that  I  can  imagine  the  bell  ringing  as  it  did  (it  was 
still  swinging  as  I  came  in)  was  by  its  having  fallen  from 
a  position  of  unstable  suspense,  from  which  it  was  dislodged 
by  some  concussion.  It  m.ay  have  occurred  to  the  cham- 
bermaid, or  the  boots,  to  balance  it  on  a  certain  nail  in  the 
hopes   that  it  might  tumble   dramatically   later  on.      Long 


230  Eusapla  Palladino 

practice  has  failed  to  disclose  any  other  method.  The  cham- 
bermaid and  the  boots,  delicately  questioned,  deny  blankly. 
The  chambermaid,  indeed,  is  terrified  at  our  cabinet  and 
could  barely  be  persuaded  to  play  'Eusapia'  in  some  imitation 
photographs  of  phenomena  we  took  yesterday.  The  boots 
is  too  stolid  for  such  imaginative  leaps.  'John'  himself  is 
unquestionable.  Taking  it  all  round  it  is  the  most  perplex- 
ing, indeed,  annoying,  dilemna  of  this  most  perplexing  month. 

"  EVERARD    FeILDING." 
December  17,  1908. 

BELL  INCIDENT,  December  15,  1908 
By  W.  W.  Baggally 

I  was  standing  alone  at  8.45  p.m.  on  the  evening  of  Decem- 
ber 15th,  by  the  side  of  a  table  in  the  seance  room  preparing 
some  clay  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining,  if  possible,  impres- 
sions of  "John's"  fingers,  or  hand,  at  the  sitting  which  Eusa- 
pia Palladino  was  to  give  us  on  that  evening  when  suddenly 
a  bell  in  the  cabinet  gave  a  bang  against  some  woodwork 
and  rang  loudly.  I  was  standing  at  the  time  two  and  three 
quarter  meters  from  the  closed  curtains  of  the  cabinet.  I 
looked  at  Mr.  Carrington,  who  was  just  within  the  open 
doorway  of  his  room  and  said  to  him:  "Do  you  hear  that?" 
He  exclaimed:  "By  Jove!"  I  then  rushed  into  my  room 
where  Mr.  Ryan  was  seated  writing  some  notes  and  I  told 
him  what  had  occurred.  He  came  with  me  into  the  seance 
room,  opened  the  curtains  and  we  all  saw  the  bell  swinging 
violently  with  the  string  that  it  was  suspended  by.  I  had 
anticipated  that  this  string  had  broken  and  that  the  bell  had 
fallen  to  the  ground ;  my  surprise  was  great  to  see  the  bell 
still  hanging  and  swinging  violently.  I  asked  Mr.  Carring- 
ton to  make  a  note  of  the  occurrence  at  once  and  also  Mr. 
Ryan. 

After  the  swinging  of  the  bell  had  ceased  it  occurred  to 
me  that  possibly  some  one  had  hung  or  balanced  it  on  the 
horizontal  cord  to  which  the  string  (by  which  the  bell  hung) 
was  attached,  and  that  if  this  were  so  a  jerk  might  cause  the 
bell  to  fall  and  ring.     I  found  by  experiment  that  I  could 


Eusapia  Palladino  231 

not  balance  the  bell  on  the  cord  but  that  I  could  balance  it 
on  a  nail  in  the  cabinet,  or  hang  it  on  the  cord  by  a  small 
ornamental  knob  that  was  on  the  side  of  the  handle.  When 
so  balanced  or  hung  the  bell  requirf  1  a  jerk  to  cause  it  to 
fall.  No  one  was  near  the  cabinet  to  give  this  jerk.  The 
incident  has  no  evidential  value,  but  is  very  perplexing.  It 
is  strange  that  it  should  have  occurred  during  the  course  of 
the  seances. 

ADDITION   TO  BELL  IXCIDENT 

"This  bell  incident  should  perhaps  be  taken  in  conjunction 
with  one  which  occurred  after,  I  think,  the  fifth  seance, 
hitherto  not  mentioned.  I  had  gone  to  bed  and  to  sleep.  I 
was  presently  awakened  by  C,  who  came  in  saying  that  from 
his  bed  in  the  next  room  he  heard  rappings  in  mine  through 
the  open  door.  They  still  continued  and  I  rose  and  went 
with  C.  to  the  cabinet  whence  they  came.  They  were  slow, 
deliberate  raps,  apparently  on  the  woodwork  near  the  win- 
dow. They  went  on  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  minute  while 
we  stood  there.  Unfortunately  the  light  was  then  turned 
up  and  the  curtain  withdrawn  and  they  immediately  stopped. 

"Eusapia,  when  told  of  this,  declared  it  must  have  been 
her  'fluid'  which  sometimes  stayed  behind.  Perhaps — or  a 
beetle.     I  do  not  know. 

"  E.   Feilding." 


SEANCE    10 

We  had  determined  to  devote  the  tenth  seance  to  obtain- 
ing photographs  of  levitations,  and  perhaps  other  phenomena, 
and  after  the  brilliant  results  at  the  ninth  seance,  we  had 
great  hopes  of  obtaining  some  interesting  photos  as  the  result 
of  this  seance.  We  accordingly  arranged  with  some  pho- 
tographers to  come  and  take  flashlight  photographs  of  the 
phenomena  as  they  occurred.  We  stationed  them  in  the 
next  room  with  their  apparatus,  flashlight,  magnesium,  etc., 


232 


Eusapia  Palladino 


and  partly  closed  the  folding  doors,  leading  between  the  two 
rooms.  Our  plan  was  to  notify  them  by  means  of  a  given 
signal  when  phenomena  were  about  to  occur  (Eusapia  was 
to  warn  us  in  advance)  and  we  should  then  cry  out  at  the 
critical  moment  and  obtain  a  flashlight  of  a  levitation,  or 
whatever  the  phenomenon  might  be. 

We  had  also  invited  to  this  seance  Professor  Galeotti, 
who  had  attended  our  fourth  seance,  and  Mr.  Ryan,  who 
had  been  present  at  the  eighth.  Messrs.  Feilding  and  Ryan 
lay  down  on  the  floor,  and  each  held  one  of  the  medium's 
feet.  Professor  Galeotti  and  Mr.  Baggally  assumed  control 
of  her  hands,  and  I  sat  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  seance 
table,  getting  a  clear  view  of  the  general  proceedings. 


P051TI ON    I 

m  e  0 


P06IT10NJ    II 
E-P 


G 

• 


R 


It  is  rather  amusing  to  relate  that,  after  all  our  prepara- 
tions, we  obtained  at  this  seance  no  results  worth  noting! 
Several  times  Eusapia  informed  us  that  phenomena  were 
about  to  take  place,  and  we  opened  the  doors  leading  into 
the  next  room  and  warned  the  photographers  that  they  were 
to  be  ready  for  the  given  signal.  It  never  came!  Once  the 
magnesium  was  exploded  by  mistake  and  Eusapia  nearly  had 


Eusapia  Palladino  233 

a  fit  of  hysterics.  Several  times  feeble  levitations  and  tilts 
took  place,  but  thej^  came  without  warning,  and  could  not 
be  photographed.  The  curtains  were  blown  out  on  several 
occasions,  and  we  obtained  a  number  of  remarkable  raps  on 
the  table ;  but,  compared  with  the  previous  seances,  this  one 
must  be  set  down  as  a  complete  failure. 

This  failure  cannot  be  due,  as  the  sceptic  might  think, 
to  the  fact  that  Eusapia  feared  the  camera  or  felt  that  a 
photograph  might  disclose  some  trick,  because  she  has  often 
been  photographed  before  by  other  investigators.  When  we 
asked  her  if  she  had  any  objection  to  our  taking  flashlight 
photographs  of  the  phenomena,  she  replied  that  she  had  not, 
and  we  are  assured  that  she  was  sincere  in  her  statement, 
for  she  had  often  allowed  photographs  to  be  taken  under 
very  similar  conditions.  No;  we  must  assume  that  the 
force  was  weak  on  this  occasion,  and,  because  of  the  lack  of 
it,  the  seance  was  a  complete  and  dismal  failure.  It  was  a 
great  pity  that  this  should  have  been  so,  since  it  effectually 
prevented  us  from  obtaining  any  photographs  of  the  phe- 
nomena in  actual  progress.     But  it  could  not  be  avoided. 


SEANCE    II 

The  eleventh  seance  I  did  not  attend,  having  been  com- 
pelled to  leave  Naples  and  return  to  New  York  on  certain 
matters  of  a  private  nature  which  called  me  away.  To  this 
seance,  which  took  place  on  the  evening  of  December  19, 
igo8,  Messrs.  Feilding  and  Baggally,  who  had  remained, 
invited  Mrs.  and  Miss  Hutton,  two  English  ladies,  and 
M.  Zingaropoli,  who  had  already  obtained  a  number  of 
seances  with  Eusapia  and  written  several  short  reports  upon 
her  and  her  phenomena.     Mrs.   Hutton,   who  was  said   to 


234 


Eusapla  Palladino 


be  "an  exceptionally  keen  observer,"  assumed  control  of  the 
left  side  of  the  medium  while  Mr.  Feilding  controlled  her 
right  hand  and  foot.    The  seance  began  at  10.05  P-M. 


Position   1 

EP 


MRe>.ri 


• 


Three  minutes  later  the  tilts  became  violent,  and  the  next 
moment  a  complete  levitation  of  the  table  occurred.  Bulg- 
ings  of  the  dress  and  swellings  of  the  curtain  occurred  a 
few  moments  later.  Lights  and  raps  on  the  sitters'  chairs 
followed. 

At  1 1.02  B.  climbed  on  to  the  seance  table,  at  the  medium's 
request.  Immediately  he  had  done  so,  a  complete  arm  came 
out  and  touched  his  arm.  It  was  far  too  high  for  the 
medium  to  have  reached.  He  was  then  touched  by  a  hand 
several  times,  the  fingers  of  which  he  could  feel.  At  this 
time  his  outstretched  hand  was  at  least  three  feet  above  the 
medium's  head.  At  this  stage  of  the  seance  the  exact  posi- 
tion of  the  medium's  hands  was  verified,  and  they  were 
found  to  be  resting  on  opposite  corners  of  the  small  table — 
a  distance  of  about  nine  or  ten  inches  separating  them.  At 
11.09,  just  as  B.  was  getting  down  from  the  table,  a  large 
hand  came  out,  grasped  his  sleeve  and  nearly  pulled  him  ofif 
the  seance  table  into  the  cabinet. 

A  few  minutes  after  the  occurrence  of  these  phenomena 


Eusapia  Palladino  235 

the  curtains  of  the  cabinet  were  drawn  aside  and  a  white 
object — described  at  the  time  as  resembling  "a  handful  of 
white  dough" — appeared  at  the  opening  of  the  curtains 
about  three  feet  from  the  medium's  head.  The  position  of 
the  medium's  hands  rendered  any  substitution  impossible,  as 
they  were  held  on  opposite  corners  of  the  seance  table,  and 
the  curtain,  which  had  blown  out  over  it,  remained  separat- 
ing the  two  hands. 

Several  more  touches  were  experienced  under  perfect  con- 
ditions of  control.  A  black  hand  came  out  and  grasped 
Mrs.  H.  visibly.  She  saw  the  hand  approach  her  and  finally 
felt  it  as  it  grasped  her  body.  A  black  head,  the  features 
of  which  were  visible,  then  appeared — coming  out  from 
behind  the  curtains.  The  medium's  head  was  resting  against 
Mr.  Feilding's  at  the  moment  this  phenomenon  occurred, 
and  both  her  hands  were  accounted  for. 

At  11.38  an  extremely  interesting  series  of  phenomena 
occurred,  the  record  of  which  I  quote  from  the  detailed 
notes : 

"Medium  asks  F.  to  pinch  him. 

"F.^      I  am  now  pinching  her. 

"Mrs.  H.     I  am  pinched  on  my  right  arm. 

"F.     I  am  pinching  again. 

"H.     Both  at  the  same  time  now. 

"F.  I  pinched  the  medium  and  ]\Irs.  Hutton  felt  a 
pinch  simultaneously,  but  not  always;  that  is  to  say,  some- 
times I  pinched  and  she  did  not  feel  the  pinch." 

B.  and  F.  changed  places  soon  after  this,  but  touches  con- 
tinued to  be  felt,  chief!}'  by  Mrs.  Hutton.  At  one  time, 
however,  a  hand  was  active  in  both  B.'s  and  Mrs.  H.'s  laps 

'Besides  the  usual  symbols,  in  this  stance,  H  =  Mrs.  Hutton,  Z  =  M.  Zingar- 
opoli. 


236 


Eusapia  Palladino 


at  the  same  moment.  The  medium's  hands  were  held  on 
opposite  corners  of  the  table  when  this  was  taking  place. 
Both  hands  were  also  visible  to  F.  and  Mrs.  H. 


P051TION    If 


B 


z 


MRb.H 


Several  more  remarkable  touches  were  experienced  under 
perfect  conditions  of  control;  then  the  following  incident 
occurred  at  12.11 : 

"F.     Mrs.   H.'s  left  hand  was  seized  by  a  hand  by  the 
wrist  and  dragged  across  the  table  to  touch  B.'s  face. 
"B.     Oh!     Here's  the  hand  again.     I  saw  it  that  time." 

At  12.26  one  of  the  most  striking  phenomena  of  the 
whole  series  took  place,  since  it  would  have  been  utterly 
impossible  for  the  medium  to  have  accomplished  it,  even 
granting  that  she  had  released  one  hand.  M.,  the  stenog- 
rapher, who  had  the  clearest  view  of  this  phenomenon, 
described  it  in  the  following  terms: 

"As  the  control  was  no  longer  to  be  given  in  full,  I  had 
stood  up  to  try  to  see  some  of  the  phenomena  and  was  stand- 
ing behind  to  the  right  of  Mrs.  H.  I  was  looking  down 
at  the  little  stool  which  was  on  the  floor  about  a  foot  from 
the  curtain  and  about  two  and  a  half  feet  from  the  medium's 
leg,  and  wondering  whether  anything  would  happen.     Sud- 


Eusapia  Palladino 


237 


denly,  as  I  was  looking,  I  saw  it  approach  the  curtain  and 
the  curtain  go  out  toward  it.  It  then  climbed  very  slowly 
indeed  up  the  curtain,  horizontally,  one  corner  only  pointing 
in  and  touching  the  curtain  on  the  outside.  It  gave  me  the 
impression  of  being  drawn  up  as  if  by  a  kind  of  magnet  on 
the  other  side  of  the  curtain.  It  slid  past  the  curtain,  ivhich 
remained  iuotionlcss.  I  felt  up  the  curtain  as  it  was  climb- 
ing up  on  both  sides  of  the  stool,  but  not  between  the  stool 
and  the  curtain,  as  I  was  afraid  of  interfering  with  the 
movements.  There  was  nothing  tangible  behind.  When 
it  had  climbed  up  to  a  distance  of  about  one  and  a  half  feet 
above  Mrs.  H.'s  shoulder  it  seemed  to  turn,  and  drawing  the 
curtain  with  it,  went  over  Mrs.  H.'s  shoulder  on  to  the 
seance  table.  At  the  moment  it  was  turning  I  was  curious 
to  verify  the  position  of  the  medium's  left  hand.  I  began 
by  Mrs.  H.'s  shoulder,  felt  all  down  her  arm,  discovered  she 
was  holding  the  medium's  right  hand,  which  I  felt  right  up 
to  the  medium's  shoulder.  On  bringing  my  hand  down 
again  to  the  medium's  hand  she  made  a  violent  movement 
as  if  to  push  it  away  and  said :  'Somebody  is  breaking  the 
current.  Filil 


Position  [IF 


Position  IV 


B 
• 


MftS.H 


Mie>5  M. 


Mi&i  H 


B.  and  Z.  here  changed  places  for  a  short  period,  but  B. 
again  assumed  control  of  her  right  hand  after  a  few  minutes. 

B.  continued  to  receive  touches  on  his  hand  and  arm, 
both  the  medium's  hands  being  securely  held  and  visible; 


238  Eusapia  Palladino 

and  at  i  a.m.  he  was  grasped  by  a  complete  hand  while 
he  was  holding  both  the  medium's  hands  In  his — as  I  held 
them  in  the  ninth  seance.     He  remarked  at  the  time: 

"I  have  got  both  her  hands  now.  Yes,  it  has  touched  m.e 
again.  It  is  an  absolute  proof  to  me  that  this  hand  is  not 
the  hand  of  the  medium.  I  have  got  both  her  thumbs.  I 
am  holding  her  right  hand  in  my  left  hand,  my  right  hand 
is  on  the  right  end  of  the  table  holding  her  left.  This  hand 
is  still  playing  about  with  me. 

"F.  B.'s  left  hand  is  now  lying  on  the  corner  of  the  table 
and  a  hand  from  inside  the  curtain  plays  with  it.  Mean- 
while he  is  holding  the  two  thumbs  of  the  medium  in  his 
right  hand  visible  to  me. 

"B,  Oh!  It  is  touching  me  again.  I  have  verified  the 
foot  control." 

At  I.I 5  the  medium  said  she  was  tired,  and  the  seance 
officially  terminated.  Several  raps,  under  excellent  condi- 
tions of  control,  were,  however,  obtained;  the  account  of 
which  reads  as  follows: 

"Lights  are  gradually  turned  up,  but  medium  still  keeps 
her  place  as  also  do  B.  and  H.     After  a  time: 

"B.  Medium  makes  three  gestures  toward  the  door  and 
three  noises  are  heard  in  it. 

"M.  This  in  light  No.  i.  Next  room  door  open  with 
full  electric  light  on. 

"H.     I  heard  them. 

"B.  Several  times  medium  makes  gestures  and  each  time 
raps  are  heard  in  the  door.  These  gestures  and  raps  were 
made  a  considerable  number  of  times,  finishing  by  four  large 
gestures  and  four  loud  raps." 

[F.  B.  called  me  in  from  the  other  room.  I  asked 
medium  to  repeat  the  raps.  It  seemed  as  though  the  force 
were  expended.  She  made  three  or  four  gestures  and  no 
raps  followed.    Then  she  made  a  final  gesture  and  a  loud 


Eusapia  Palladino  239 

rap  followed.  It  appeared  to  me  distinctly  to  come  from 
the  door  beside  which  I  was  standing;  her  feet  at  least  three 
feet  from  the  door  and  her  hand,  as  she  made  the  gesture, 
did  not  approach  to  within  six  inches  of  it.  There  was  a 
clear  space  between  the  whole  of  the  medium  and  the  door.] 


CHAPTER  V 

RESUME    OF    THEORIES    ADVANCED    TO    EXPLAIN    THESE 
PHENOMENA 

Before  we  can  profitably  discuss  any  of  the  scientific  or 
philosophical  theories  that  have  been  advanced  to  explain 
the  facts  based  upon  the  supposed  genuineness  of  the  phe- 
nomena, it  is,  of  course,  necessary  for  us,  first  of  all,  to 
consider  and  successfully  exclude  all  purely  normal  explana- 
tions. 

Apart  from  the  notion  that  the  investigators  of  Eusapia 
have  deliberately  falsified  the  facts — a  notion  which  cannot 
be  seriously  entertained  at  this  date — there  remain  only  two 
normal  explanations  which  can  be  advanced.  These  are: 
hallucination  and  fraud. 

Now,  I  contend  that  hallucination,  as  an  explanation  of 
these  facts,  is  absolutely  excluded  by  the  nature  of  the  evi- 
dence. It  might  conceivably  be  an  explanation  of  some  few 
of  the  facts,  but  could  not  be  held  to  explain  the  greater 
number  of  them.  We  should  have  to  assume  (and  for  this 
there  is  no  warrant  whatever)  that  Eusapia,  without  speak- 
ing a  word — frequently,  while  she  is  in  deep  trance,  and 
absolutely  quiescent — can  so  influence  her  sitters  as  to  cause 
them  to  see  sights  and  hear  noises  which  had  no  basis  what- 
ever in  reality!  Were  one  disposed  to  press  this  theory,  he 
would  find  that  there  is  no  analogy  whatever  in  hypnotic 
cases  or  in  historic  cases  of  similar  type.  I  discussed  this 
question  of  possible  hallucination   in  connection  with  the 

240 


Eusapla  Palladino  241 

medlumship  of  D.  D.  Home  at  some  length  In  my  Physical 
Phenomena  of  Spiritualism,  pp.  386-93.  I  there  pointed 
out  that,  although  there  were  a  number  of  facts  which 
tended  to  support  such  a  theory,  there  were,  on  the  contrary, 
numerous  other  facts  tending  to  disprove  it,  and  which,  in 
fact,  were  cumulatively  so  strong  as  to  offset  and  disprove 
this  hypothesis.  I  further  analyzed  the  performances  of  the 
Hindu  Yogis  and  fakirs  in  connection  with  this  question  of 
hallucination  and  found  that  there  was  but  little  evidence 
in  favor  of  any  such  theory — while  the  difference  between 
the  performances  of  the  Hindu  fakirs,  as  reported,  and  the 
phenomena  of  Home  were  many  and  obvious  throughout.^ 
While  the  fakir  performs  his  experiments  by  prefacing 
them  with  various  conjurations,  incantations,  the  burning 
of  incense,  etc.,  the  modern  medium  does  not  resort  to  any 
such  devices  (or,  at  least,  Home  and  Eusapia  cannot  be  said 
to  have  done  so),  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  remain  passive 
throughout,  and  do  not  attempt  to  suggest  to  their  sitters 
the  phenomena  which  are  to  take  place.  It  might  be  urged 
that  Home  did  occasionally  suggest  phenomena  to  his  sit- 
ters; but  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  Eusapia,  since  she  very 
rarely  speaks  and  when  she  does  it  is  almost  invariably  about 
some  matter-of-fact  subject  not  connected  with  the  seance. 
Those  who  contend,  therefore,  that  Eusapia  could  by  such 
means  induce  full-blown  hallucinations  in  a  large  circle  of 
sitters  are  bound  to  prove  their  theory,  since  they  would 
find  no  support  whatever  from  any  analogy  drawn  from 
hypnotically  induced  hallucinations,  or  hallucinations  that 
are  the  result  of  any  process  of  suggestion. 

Throughout  the  seances  we  were  in  a  perfectly  calm  and 
critical   attitude   of   mind,   closely   observing   all    that   took 

'  See,  in  this  connection,  my  pamphlet  entitled  Hindu  Magic.  J 


242  Eusapia  Palladino 

place,  while  on  the  constant  lookout  for  fraud.  It  would 
be  hard  to  conceive  an  attitude  of  mind  further  removed 
from  suggestibility  than  ours.  We  were  active,  alert,  and 
intent  on  controlling  the  phenomena  rather  than  letting 
them  control  us!  Further,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
Eusapia  speaks  no  English  and  very  little  French,  so  that  all 
her  remarks  had  to  be  translated  to  me  (I  speak  no 
Italian),  and  yet  I  saw  or  failed  to  see  all  that  Mr.  Feilding 
and  Mr.  Baggally  did — both  of  whom  speak  Italian  and 
could  understand  Eusapia  at  first  hand.  It  is  hardly  con- 
ceivable that  any  suggestion  made  by  Eusapia  could  take 
effect  under  these  circumstances,  or,  at  any  rate,  if  any  critic 
thinks  so,  the  responsibility  is  thrown  upon  him  of  proving 
his  case.  There  is  no  analogous  case  in  the  whole  history 
of  psychical  research.  Even  if  D.  D.  Home  succeeded  in 
hallucinating  some  of  his  sitters,  the  case  would  be  very 
different  with  Eusapia.  Suppose  that  Eusapia  said,  "See! 
There  is  a  head !"  pointing  in  a  certain  direction.  This 
remark  would  have  to  be  translated  to  me — into  English — 
before  I  would  know  what  it  meant,  and  this  waiting  and 
translation  of  the  remark  would  surely  take  the  edge  off 
any  suggestion  that  the  medium  might  make.  It  is  a  most 
difficult  thing  to  induce  full-blown  hallucinations  in  a  good 
hypnotic  subject,  and  even  when  he  is  thoroughly  under 
control,  he  frequently  refuses  to  take  the  suggestion.  This 
being  so,  how  are  we  to  believe  that  three  men,  who  have 
never  been  hypnotized,  who  are  not  in  a  suggestible,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  in  a  very  positive  frame  of  mind,  can  be 
hallucinated  in  this  simple  manner?  The  thing  is  incredible. 
But  there  is  another  answer  to  the  critics  who  would  urge 
hallucination  as  an  explanation  of  the  facts.  Eusapia  very 
rarely  makes  suggestions  of  the  kind,  and  when  she  does 


Eusapia  Palladino  243 

they  are  given  In  a  dreamy,  far-away  voice,  very  different 
from  the  positive,  convincing  tone  of  the  hypnotic  operator. 
In  all  our  sittings,  we  do  not  remember  that  Eusapia  directly 
suggested  to  us  more  than  three  or  four  phenomena,  and  it 
is  interesting  to  note  that,  on  at  least  one  occasion,  we  did 
not  see  what  she  indicated,  or  rather  what  she  said  would 
happen  did  not  happen  and  she  admitted  that  it  had  not 
taken  place.  If  any  phenomenon  took  place,  we  all  saw  it 
at  one  and  the  same  time;  and  if  a  hand  was  seen  by  one 
of  us  and  not  by  all,  it  was  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  cur- 
tain or  some  material  object  was  between  the  hand  and  the 
onlooker.  Everything  indicated  that  the  facts  observed  by 
us  were  objective  in  character,  and  that  none  of  them  were 
subjective.  We  felt  and  still  feel  that  it  would  only  be 
necessary  for  the  critic  to  attend  a  few  seances  with  this 
medium  in  order  to  be  assured  of  that  fact. 

But  there  is  still  more  conclusive  evidence  that  the  phe- 
nomena witnessed  in  the  presence  of  Eusapia  are  not  sub- 
jective in  their  nature,  or  the  result  of  any  process  of 
hallucination.  These  phenomena  have  been  photographed, 
and  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  the  camera  and  the  sensitive 
plate  cannot  be  hypnotized  in  the  same  way  as  a  human 
being!  Numerous  cases  are  on  record  in  which  levitations 
of  tables  and  other  phenomena  have  been  photographed,  and 
there  is  no  longer  any  doubt  as  to  the  objective  character  of 
some  of  these  phenomena — whatever  the  explanation  may 
be;  it  is  certain  that  facts,  apparently  supernormal,  have 
occurred  and  have  been  photographed.  Additional  evidence 
is  furnished  by  those  cases  in  which  records  of  the  phenomena 
have  been  obtained  by  instrumental  means.  The  actual 
occurrence  of  a  phenomenon  has  been  proved,  e.g.,  by  means 
of  revolving  cylinders,  electrical  apparatus,  and  other  devices 


244  Eusapia  Palladino 

which  have  checked  the  progress  of  the  phenomena  by  purely 
automatic  means.  Henceforth,  therefore,  no  critic  of  these 
phenomena,  whatever  theory  he  may  choose  to  hold  regard- 
ing them,  can  contend  that  hallucination  is  an  adequate  ex- 
planation of  the  facts,  and  ft  must  accordingly  be  aban- 
doned. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  the  second  possible  normal  explana- 
tion of  the  facts — namely,  fraud.  It  is  far  more  difficult 
to  combat  this  theory  than  the  preceding  one,  and  it  is  in 
fact  a  vera  causa,  inasmuch  as  Eusapia  has  been  known  to 
defraud  her  sitters  whenever  she  could,  and  all  investigators 
have  found  that,  were  she  permitted,  she  would  occasionally 
release  one  hand  or  one  foot,  and  endeavor  to  produce 
phenomena  with  it.  This  happened  at  our  own  sittings, 
and  has  doubtless  occurred  more  or  less  at  every  series  of 
sittings  held  by  other  investigators.  To  the  man-in-the- 
street  it  would  appear  that  this  effectually  bars  all  further 
scientific  investigation.  If  a  medium  has  been  caught  trick- 
ing, he  would  urge,  she  is  a  fraud  and  need  be  investigated 
no  longer!  It  is  useless  to  look  for  genuine  phenomena  in 
the  presence  of  a  fraudulent  medium.  In  spite  of  the  ap- 
parent rationality  of  this  argument,  however,  all  those  in- 
vestigators who  have  had  much  experience  with  Eusapia, 
contend  that  this  argument  is  not  valid  in  her  case  and  that 
genuine  phenomena  do  occur  in  her  presence,  if  fraud  be 
prevented,  and  she  is  controlled  with  sufficient  accuracy  to 
prevent  her  from  releasing  her  hands  and  feet  and  produc- 
ing or  attempting  to  produce  fraudulent  manifestations. 
The  reason  for  this  attempted  fraud  on  her  part  I  shall 
endeavor  to  state  presently.  Just  now  I  need  only  say  that 
fraud  alone  is  incapable  of  accounting  for  all  the  phenomena 


Eusapia  Palladino  245 

that  have  been  observed  in  her  presence  from  time  to  time 
in  the  past. 

Take,  for  example,  the  follovrinq;  Instances.  In  their 
Report  on  the  ile  Roubaud  phenomena,  the  savants  there 
experimenting  recorded  certain  occurrences  that  took  place 
when  both  hands,  both  feet,  and  the  head  of  Eusapia  were 
adequately  held — e.g.,  in  the  following  instance :  ^ 

"A  covered  wire  of  the  electric  battery  came  out  on  to 
the  table  and  wrapped  itself  round  R.'s  and  E.'s  hands,  and 
was  pulled  until  E.  called  out.  Thenceforth  R.  held  her 
head  and  body,  M.  kept  one  hand  and  both  feet,  while  L. 
held  the  other  hand,  and  in  this  position  E.  made  several 
spasmodic  movements,  each  of  which  was  accompanied  or 
followed  by  violent  movements  of  the  neighboring  round 
table." 

"L.,  holding  both  hands  of  E.,  was  distinctly  touched  as  by 
a  hand  on  the  shoulder  and  back  of  head.  The  hairy  mass 
was  again  felt  by  him." 

"L.  was  then  permitted  to  hold  both  hands  and  both  feet, 
and  he  was  then  touched  twice  on  the  back  and  grasped 
distinctly  on  the  left  arm.  E.  then  held  up  one  of  L.'s 
hands,  and  with  it  made  two  small  movements  and  with 
each  movement  a  chair  not  far  distant  grated  along  the  floor 
as  if  pushed  or  pulled." 

"While  Lodge  held  both  the  medium's  hands  on  the  table 
and  also  her  head  leaning  over  on  him  away  from  the 
chalet  and  while  Richct  held  both  her  feet,  the  suspended 
chalet  was  heard  to  be  wound  up  partially  three  times  with 
brief  pauses,  making  four  seconds  in  all — as  heard  and  re- 
corded by  Bellier." 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  some  of  the  above  instances 
both  hands  and  both  feet,  as  v/ell  as  the  head  of  the  medium, 
were  adequately  held  when  the  phenomenon  took  place,  and 

'  R.  stands  for  Richet  ;  M.  for  Myers  ;  L.  for  Lodge  ;  O.  for  Ochorowicz; 
and  E.  for  Eusapia. 


246  Eusapia  Palladino 

are  accounted  for  in  the  notes.  Now  it  is  only  rational  to 
suppose  that  if  a  man  is  intrusted  with  the  safe-keeping 
of  both  the  medium's  hands,  he  knows  when  he  has  these 
two  hands,  and  he  would  not  be  liable  to  confuse  them  with 
one  hand.  If  the  two  hands  are  being  held  by  different 
sitters,  who  are  not  on  the  constant  lookout  for  fraud,  who 
are  not  aware  of  the  tricks  resorted  to  by  Eusapia  in  order 
to  substitute  one  hand  for  two,  it  is  at  least  conceivable  that 
the  hands  had  been  approximated  during  the  seance  and  that 
substitution  had  taken  place.  But  when,  as  here,  we  find 
that  both  hands  have  been  held  by  the  same  investigator, 
one  in  each  of  his,  and  while  both  feet  and  the  head  have 
been  held  by  other  investigators,  it  would  really  appear  in- 
conceivable that  any  substitution  could  have  taken  place,  or 
that  the  medium  could  have  induced  the  sitters  controlling 
her  hands  and  feet  to  believe  that  they  were  holding  one 
hand  and  one  foot  under  such  conditions!  It  is,  I  repeat, 
inconceivable ;  and  doubly  so  when  we  remember  the  scientific 
eminence  of  her  investigators,  who  were  all  well  aware  of  the 
possible  methods  of  trickery  and  on  the  constant  lookout  for 
it;  and  when,  moreover,  the  light  was  sufficiently  abundant 
to  enable  them  to  see  as  well  as  to  feel  the  hands  they  were 
holding  and  to  observe  a  clear,  lighted  space  between  the 
medium's  body  and  the  object  moved. ^ 

In  our  own  seances  I  am  absolutely  certain  that  fraud 
was  not  and  could  not  have  been  employed  in  the  vast 
majority  of  cases.     Not  only  did  we  feel   the  hands  con- 

*  I  think  it  should  be  added  here  that  I  had  the  pleasure  of  discussing  these 
phenomena  with  Professor  Lomhroso,  at  Turin;  with  MM.  Flammarion,  Max- 
well, Youri^vitch,  Courtier,  etc.,  in  Paris,  and  in  every  instance  a  full  belief  in 
the  reality  of  the  phenomena  had  remained  with  the  investigators.  None  of 
them  had  found  any  new  indications  of  fraud  whatever,  or  any  symptom  that 
would  tend  to  cause  them  to  change  their  opinion  as  to  the  reality  of  these 
phenomena. 


Eusapla  Palladino  247 

trolled  by  us,  not  only  did  we  encircle  them  with  our  hands, 
trace  the  arm  to  the  body,  and  ascertain  from  the  relative 
position  of  the  thumb  and  fingers  which  hand  we  were 
holding,  but  we  could  frequently  see,  as  well  as  feel,  the 
medium's  hands  resting  in  ours  upon  the  table  or  stretched 
before  us  perfectly  visible.  When  it  is  sufficiently  light  to 
see  and  not  only  feel  the  hand;  when  one  can  see  the  very 
texture  of  the  flesh,  the  finger  nails,  the  distance  between 
the  fingers,  etc.,  it  is  really  absurd  to  talk  of  substitution, 
since  it  would  be  as  Impossible  to  produce  any  of  these 
phenomena  unobserved  as  it  would  be  to  do  so  in  full  day- 
light and  during  the  course  of  a  social  chat.  When  the 
light  is  sufficiently  abundant  to  see  as  well  as  feel  the  hands, 
the  head,  the  feet,  and  all  portions  of  the  medium's  body; 
when  the  medium  is  being  securely  held  on  both  sides  by 
skeptical  investigators,  who  are  themselves  conjurers,  and 
who  have  exposed  numerous  medlumistic  tricks;  when,  in 
addition  to  all  this,  the  medium's  hands  and  feet  have 
remained  securely  tied  with  rope  to  the  hands  and  feet  of 
the  investigators  on  either  side  of  her — I  repeat,  it  is  absurd 
to  talk  of  fraud  when  phenomena  have  been  produced  under 
such  circumstances.  I  quote  a  few  instances  from  our  own 
detailed  record,  showing  how  complete  was  our  control  of 
the  medium  at  the  very  moment  of  the  production  of  an 
important  phenomenon. 

"F.  I  have  asked  the  medium  whether  I  could  feel  the 
hand  also  (which  we  had  felt  through  the  curtain).  She 
replied,  'Yes.'  F.  stands  to  the  left  of  C.  and  leans  over 
with  his  left  hand  outstretched  about  two  and  a  half  feet 
above  and  to  the  left  of  the  medium's  head.  Immediately 
after : 

"F.  I  am  touched  by  something  directly  upon  the  point 
of  my  finger. 


248  Eusapia  Palladino 

"12.11  A.M.  F.  I  am  touched  again.  I  am  taken  hold 
of  by  fingers  and  I  can  feel  the  nails  quite  plainly.  [F. 
My  forefinger  was  pressed  hard  by  three  separate  fingers 
above  it  and  a  thumb  below  through  the  curtain.  I  felt  the 
nails  quite  distinctly  as  they  pressed  into  my  finger.  Decem- 
ber 6,  1908.] 

"C.  Her  head  pressing  against  my  head.  I  am  abso- 
lutely holding  her  left  hand  upon  the  table.  Both  her  legs 
are  around  my  right  leg  under  the  chair. 

"B.  I  am  absolutely  certain  that  her  right  hand  is  on  my 
left  hand  on  her  right  knee. 

"F.  I  am  touched  again.  Grasped  this  time  as  though 
by  the  lower  part  of  a  thumb  and  fingers. 

"B.  I  am  touched  gently  on  my  hand  and  at  the  same 
moment  I  am  touched  by  a  hand  on  my  shoulder.  Also  the 
curtain  came  out  as  though  struck  violently  by  a  hand  from 
within." 

At  12.24  the  following  phenomenon  took  place; 

"C.  I  am  touched.  Oh,  my  hair  is  pulled  by  a  complete 
hand  through  the  curtain !  IMedium's  head  resting  against 
mine,  medium's  left  hand  [control  stated  but  omitted  in 
stenographic  notes],  the  whole  of  her  left  arm  controlled 
by  my  right  arm  and  her  left  foot  on  my  right  foot. 

''B.  Medium's  right  hand  is  on  my  left  hand  on  the 
table.  I  am  sure  it  is  her  right  hand,  as  I  can  feel  her 
thumb.  Her  right  foot  is  on  my  left  foot,  and  I  can  feel 
the  side  of  her  leg  against  my  leg. 

"F.  When  Carrington  was  touched  I  saw  the  curtain 
come  right  out  over  the  medium's  head." 

Now  it  would  appear  to  me  that,  unless  the  skeptic 
c]ino?es  to  believe  that  we  have  deliberately  falsified  the  facts, 
there  is  no  other  alternative  in  such  cases  than  to  accept  the 
only  logical  conclusion,  and  to  be]i(^ve  that  genuine  phe- 
nomena were  produced.  Both  bands  and  both  feet  were 
securely  held ;  both  arms  were  under  control ;  both  feet  and 


Eusapla  Palladlno  249 

the  legs  as  far  as  the  knees  were  also  completely  under  con- 
trol. The  same  may  be  said  of  the  medium's  head,  which 
was  resting  against  my  head.  Farther,  the  light  was  suffi- 
ciently good  to  enable  us  to  see  the  hands  we  were  holding. 
We  would  lift  them  up  to  within  six  inches  of  our  eyes  and 
examine  their  texture  in  detail — ascertaining  that  stuffed 
gloves  or  dummy  hands  were  not  held  by  us,  and  we  manip- 
ulated the  hands  in  such  a  way  that  we  forced  responsive 
squeezes  or  pressures  from  the  medium's  hands — showing 
that  the  hands  we  were  holding  were  really  living  hands, 
and  were  not  mere  dummies.  We  ascertained  that  these 
hands  were  connected  with  her  body  by  tracing  their  con- 
nection with  our  free  hands.  Further,  be  it  observed,  a 
substitution  of  hands  would  have  been  impossible;  first, 
because  one  hand  was  held  in  her  lap,  while  the  other  was 
held  upon  the  surface  of  the  table.  This  was  done  pur- 
posely and  in  order  to  avoid  any  possibility  of  approximating 
the  hands.  Secondly,  we  generally  held  Eusapia's  hand  by 
the  thumb  or  by  encircling  the  whole  of  her  hand  in  ours. 
By  this  means  it  was  possible  to  tell  which  hand  one  was 
holding — because  of  the  relative  position  of  the  thumb 
and  fingers.  When,  therefore,  phenomena  took  place  un- 
der such  circumstances,  I  think  we  were  quite  justified 
in  asserting  that  fraud  is  incapable  of  explaining  the  facts 
and  that,  whatever  their  ultimate  explanation  may  be, 
we  shall  have  to  seek  elsewhere  for  it  than  in  the  sim- 
ple hypothesis  of  trickery  and  fraudulent  substitution  of 
hands. 

Before  concluding  this  discussion  of  fraud  and  its  possibil- 
ities, however,  I  wish  to  answer,  in  a  general  way,  one  or 
two  serious  critics  of  these  phenomena,  by  way  of  illustration. 


250  Eusapla  Palladino 

I  shall  choose  one  of  the  most  recent  and  authoritative  of 
these. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  the  S.  P.  R.,  for  February,  1909, 
Mrs.  Sidgwick  published  her  review  of  Professor  Morselli's 
book,  Psicologia  E  Spiritismo,  and  in  her  review^  she  answered 
several  critics  of  the  Cambridge  experiments,  and  stated  her 
views — and  not  only  hers,  but,  I  feel  justified  in  saying,  those 
of  the  majority  of  the  S.  P.  R.  officials — of  Eusapia  Palla- 
dino's  mediumship.  Mrs.  Sidgwick  regards  Professor  Mor- 
selli  as  "a  good  and  careful  observer"  who  is  aware  that 
Eusapia  Palladino  does  sometimes  trick,  and  who  has,  in 
fact,  "himself  sometimes  detected  her  in  trickery,  or  what 
looks  suspiciously  like  it."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Professor 
Morselli  estimated  that  less  than  ten  per  cent,  of  her  phe- 
nomena were  due  to  fraud  (Vol.  I,  p.  312),  the  remaining 
ninety  per  cent,  being  genuine  phenomena. 

Mrs.  Sidgwick  emphasizes  on  several  occasions  her  opinion 
that  it  is  useless  to  speculate  as  to  the  nature  of  the  phe- 
nomena— i.e.,  whether  or  not  they  are  spiritistic  in  character, 
or  whether  they  represent  "some  unknown  biological  law" 
— until  the  facts  themselves  have  been  established.  Until 
all  normal  explanations  {e.g.,  trickery)  have  been  eliminated 
and  the  phenomena  proved  to  exist,  it  is  useless  to  speculate 
concerning  them.  I  think  Professor  Morselli  would  agree 
with  this,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that,  in  his  estimation 
at  least,  the  phenomena  have  been  definitely  proved,  so  far 
proved  that  there  is  no  longer  any  doubt  in  his  mind  concern- 
ing their  reality,  and,  to  himself,  he  is  accordingly  justified  in 
theorizing  as  to  their  origin  and  nature.  I  must  say  that  be- 
fore I  obtained  my  sittings  I,  too,  took  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  view 
— writing  in  my  Coming  Science,  p.  382:  "Personally,  I 
think  that  It  Is  premature  to  speculate  on  the  origin  and  na- 


Eusapia  Palladino  251 

ture  of  such  phenomena  as  those  presented  by  Eusapia  Palla- 
dino. The  facts  are  not  yet  sufficiently  well  established  to 
warrant  any  speculations  of  the  kind,  though  one  can  well 
see  how  it  would  be  a  temptation  to  offer  such  speculations 
when  one  has  been  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  nature  and 
genuineness  of  the  phenomena." 

Aly  own  sittings  convinced  me  finally  and  conclusively  that 
genuine  phenomena  do  occur,  and,  that  being  the  case,  the 
question  of  their  interpretation  naturally  looms  before  me. 
While  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  attitude  is,  therefore,  justified  in  so 
far  as  it  represents  the  position  of  one  as  yet  unconvinced, 
it  does  not  necessarily  indicate  the  position  of  one  fully  con- 
vinced, as  I  became,  and  as  Professor  Morselli  became — as 
the  result  of  his  sittings. 

I  cannot  agree  with  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  moreover,  when  she 
says  that  the  hypothesis  of  the  agency  of  spirits  would  not 
render  Eusapia's  phenomena  more  intelligible.  For  the  minor 
phenomena,  there  is  certainly  no  need  for  such  a  theory ;  in- 
deed, the  facts  seem  to  point  against  it  (p.  268)  ;  but  for  the 
more  important  phenomena  of  materializations,  etc.,  such,  e.g., 
as  those  quoted  on  p.  147,  I  think  that  not  only  is  the  spirit- 
istic hypothesis  justified  as  a  working  theory,  but  it  is,  in  fact, 
the  only  one  capable  of  rationally  explaining  the  facts.  Cer- 
tainly we  should  not  be  entitled  to  disregard  it ;  far  less  should 
we  contend  that  the  hypothesis  is  superfluous — when  a  large 
number  of  the  facts  point  to  it  as  their  only  rational  ex- 
planation. 

Mrs.  Sidgwick  is  right  in  saying  that  there  is  a  great  uni- 
formity and  sameness  about  Eusapia's  seances.  Certainly  this 
would  argue  that  she  is  only  capable  of  producing  a  limited 
number  of  phenomena  by  fraudulent  means.  But  we  might 
also  argue  that  this  sameness  pointed  to  the  genuine  charac- 


252  Eusapia  Palladino 

ter  of  the  seances — inasmuch  as  the  power  which  produced 
the  phenomena  was  probably  capable  of  producing  only  a 
certain  number  of  phenomena  within  a  limited  range.  More- 
over, the  fact  that  there  is  this  sameness  should  facilitate  the 
detection  of  fraud,  when  once  it  is  known  to  exist,  and 
when  we  know  precisely  the  kind  of  fraud  to  look  for. 

But  it  is  not  altogether  true  that  Eusapia's  seances  have 
a  sameness  about  them.  In  our  own  series  of  sittings,  fresh 
phenomena  were  added  at  every  seance,  and  the  phenomena 
became  more  startling  and  convincing,  took  place  at  greater 
and  greater  distances  from  Eusapia,  and  we  came  nearer  and 
nearer  to  obtaining  full-form  materializations  as  the  seances 
progressed — inasmuch  as  we  obtained  no  materializations  at 
all  during  the  first  seance,  and  but  feeble  ones  during  the 
first  three  or  four,  but  they  became  more  numerous  and 
stronger  as  the  series  progressed,  until  finally  distinct  heads 
and  white  tangible  hands  touched  us  outside  the  curtains,  and 
in  front  of  Eusapia — whereas,  at  first,  these  hands  had  only 
ventured  to  touch  us  through  the  curtain.  When,  therefore, 
we  find  that,  even  in  a  short  series  of  sittings,  materializa- 
tions of  parts  of  a  body  may  be  obtained,  it  is  only  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  full-form  materializations  might  be  ob- 
tained in  a  large  number  of  sittings,  under  better  and  more 
favorable  conditions  than  prevailed  at  ours.  It  is  a  question 
of  degree,  not  of  kind,  be  it  observed ;  and  inasmuch  as  we 
were  definitely  convinced  that  materialized  hands  did  mani- 
fest, I  can  see  no  rational  ground  for  skepticism. 

Mrs.  Sidgwick  tells  us  that,  at  Cambridge,  "no  dark  cur- 
tained recess  was  especially  provided."  The  importance  of 
a  cabinet  at  Eusapia's  seances  is  certainly  obvious  to  all  who 
have  had  sittings  with  her — at  least  of  late  years — and  one 
can  quite  understand  that,  being  deprived  of  it,   Eusapia's 


Eusapia  Palladino  253 

mediumship  would  suffer.  We  are  glad  to  have  Mrs.  Sidg- 
wick's  formal  refutation  of  the  current  ideas  concerning  Eu- 
sapia's  unhappiness  and  loneliness  at  Cambridge.  She  \vas 
submitted  to  no  offensive  searching  and  the  investigators  evi- 
dentl}'  did  everything  in  their  power  to  make  her  happy  and 
contented.  But  the  Cambridge  sittings  certainly  differed 
from  ours,  and  probably  from  those  of  other  investigators  in 
one  very  important  point.  Speaking  of  the  Cambridge  series, 
Mrs.  Sidgwick  says: 

"There  is,  at  these  sittings,  so  much  moving  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  whole  circle,  including  the  medium,  so  much  rest- 
lessness altogether,  and  so  much  difficulty  in  ascertaining 
what  were  the  exact  relative  positions  of  the  phenomena,  that 
it  is  difficult  to  get  clear  evidence.  .  .  ." 

Now,  in  our  sittings,  Eusapia  remained  a  passive  agent 
throughout.  Occasionally  we  changed  places,  the  controller 
on  the  right  taking  the  place  of  the  controller  on  the  left,  and 
vice  versa,  but  Eusapia  rarely  moved  her  position,  and  during 
a  large  part  of  every  sitting  she  remained  entirely  passive, 
moving  neither  hand  nor  foot — her  whole  body,  on  occasion, 
resting  against  ours,  and  being  entirely  encircled  by  our  arms 
and  hands.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  such  conditions  were  not 
permitted  at  Cambridge,  but  I  think  that  we  are  justified  in 
saying  that  our  own  seances  form  an  efficient  reply  to  this 
objection  by  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  and  formally  and  explicitly  re- 
fute this  criticism — based  upon  the  supposed  constant  rest- 
lessness of  Eusapia. 

I  quite  agree  with  Mrs.  Sidgwick  that  numerous  suspicious 
instances  were  noticed  at  Cambridge  {e.g.,  the  incident  of 
the  handkerchief,  p.  520),  even  before  fraudulent  substitu- 
tion of  hands  was  actually  detected.    I  also  agree  that  when 


254  Eusapla  Palladino 

the  hands  were  held  as  they  were  at  that  period,  one  might 
have  been  a  good  observer  and  yet  tricked  into  believing  that 
he  was  securely  holding  one  hand,  when  as  a  matter  of  fact 
he  was  not.  Further  and  finally,  I  heartily  agree  with  Mrs. 
Sidgwick  when  she  contends  that  almost  the  whole  force  of 
the  argument  for  supernormal  phenomena  rests  upon  this 
single  fact:  whether  the  hands  and  feet  were  adequately 
held  at  the  time. 

But  I  think  there  are  numerous  instances  on  record  which 
indicate  clearly  that  both  hands  were  securely  held  during 
the  production  of  remarkable  phenomena;  and,  further  than 
this,  and  still  more  conclusive,  is  the  evidence  that  they  were 
seen  resting  upon  the  table,  held  in  the  hands  of  her  con- 
trollers. Secondly,  there  are,  as  Mrs.  Sidgwick  herself  ad- 
mits, many  cases  on  record  which  cannot  be  accounted  for, 
even  supposing  that  Eusapia  had  one,  or  even  both  hands 
free — ^but  that  in  order  to  produce  the  manifestations  frau- 
dulently, she  must  have  left  her  place  at  the  table  and  walked 
about  the  room! 

Now,  in  our  own  series  of  sittings,  phenomena  were  pro- 
duced on  various  occasions  when  we  felt  absolutely  certain 
that  both  hands  were  securely  held,  and  this,  not  only  because 
we  could  feel  the  whole  of  her  hand,  but  because  both 
hands  were  distinctly  visible  to  us  resting  upon  the  table. 
Thus,  at  our  ninth  seance,  at  10.44,  Mr.  Feilding,  who  was 
sitting  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  table  from  Eusapia — and 
certainly  farther  away  from  her  than  either  of  her  controllers 
— said :  "I  can  see  the  medium's  left  hand  on  B.'s.  I  can  see 
Carrington's  hand  held  out  against  the  curtain.  I  can  see 
her  right  hand  on  the  table.  I  can  see  from  where  I  am  a 
strong  movement  of  the  small  stool;  her  head  is  perfectly 
visible  to  me." 


Eusapia  Palladino  255 

Again,  at  the  same  seance,  at  12.51,  I  was  touched  on  the 
left  side  by  a  hand,  while  I  was  holding  both  the  medium's 
hands  in  mine,  and  while  they  were  both  perfectly  visible 
to  me.  This  occurred  again  a  few  moments  later.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  Professor  Lodge  was  several  times 
touched  under  precisely  similar  circumstances  during  the 
course  of  the  ile  Roubaud  phenomena.  Again,  during  our 
sixth  seance,  we  were  repeatedly  touched  by  a  hand  through 
a  curtain,  while  I  was  holding  Eusapia's  left  hand  in  her  lap, 
and  while  Mr.  Baggally  was  holding  her  right  hand  upon 
the  table.  The  hands  were  separated  by  more  than  two  feet 
from  one  another,  and  no  attempt  whatever  was  made  to  ap- 
proximate or  substitute  the  hands.  One  hand  was  perfectly 
visible  to  us,  held  in  mine.  The  other  hand  resting  beneath 
the  curtain  on  the  table.  The  touches  occurred  on  my  side, 
and,  the  hand  I  held  being  visible  throughout,  Eusapia  must 
have  released  her  right  arm  in  order  to  produce  them.  Now, 
many  of  the  touches  were  far  beyond  her  reach,  even  had  she 
the  right  hand  free,  and  Mr.  Baggally  is  absolutely  certain 
that  such  was  not  the  case — since  he  could  feel  the  flesh  of 
her  hand  and  repeatedly  ascertained  that  the  hand  he  was 
holding  was  connected  with  her  body  by  means  of  her  nor- 
mal arm. 

All  the  objections  Mrs.  Sidgwick  raises  might  be  met  if 
we  could  suppose  that  Eusapia  materializes  for  the  time  be- 
ing a  third  arm,  which  produces  these  phenomena,  and  which 
recedes  into  her  body  at  the  conclusion  of  a  phenomenon.  In- 
credible as  such  a  supposition  doubtless  is,  there  is  evidence 
tending  to  show  that  such  is  indeed  the  case.  Professor  Bot- 
tazzi  relates  that  he,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  saw  a  hand 
which  a  moment  before  he  had  felt,  and  found  to  be  "luke- 
warm, nervous  and  rough"  (the  exact  opposite  of  Eusapia's 


256  Eusapia  Palladino 

hand),  "retreat  into  Mme.  Palladino's  shoulder,  describing 
a  curve."  At  the  eighth  seance,  held  in  July,  1907,  Professor 
Galeotti  distinctly  saw  the  doubling  of  the  left  arm  of  the 
medium.  He  exclaimed :  "Look,  I  see  two  left  arms,  identi- 
cal in  appearance!  One  is  on  the  little  table,  and  it  is  that 
which  M.  Bottazzi  touches,  and  the  other  seems  to  come 
out  of  her  shoulder — to  approach  her,  and  touch  her,  and 
then  return  and  melt  into  her  body  again.  This  is  not  an 
hallucination.  I  am  awake,  I  am  conscious  of  two  simul- 
taneous visual  sensations,  which  I  experienced  when  Mme. 
Bottazzi  says  that  she  has  been  touched." 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that,  impossible  as  such  an  idea 
may  seem,  there  is  evidence  tending  to  show  that  such  a  phe- 
nomenon may  in  fact,  occur,  and  if  it  were  once  definitely 
proved  that  such  were  the  case,  it  would  readily  explain  a 
large  portion  of  the  Cambridge  experiments  in  a  manner 
quite  compatible  with  her  honesty  and  with  the  existence  of 
her  genuine  supernormal  powers. 

Of  course  there  is  the  objection  that  fraud  was  actually 
detected  at  Cambridge,  and  that,  in  a  very  large  number  of 
instances,  a  suspicious  narrowing  down  of  the  control  of  the 
hand  to  two  or  three  fingers  was  noticed — generally,  though 
not  invariably,  followed  by  an  instantaneous  release  of  the 
hand  altogether  from  the  sitter's  control.  Such  facts  would 
certainly  seem  to  indicate  the  practice  of  fraud,  and  the  only 
scientific  procedure  in  such  cases  would  be  to  assume  that 
it  did  indicate  fraud — particularly  when  it  was  detected  in 
active  operation  at  later  seances.  Yet,  in  view  of  our  own 
experiences,  I  feel  constrained  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the 
deductions.  We  repeatedly  noted  that  Eusapia  worked  her 
hands  into  what  might  be  called  a  good  "substitution  position," 
without  her  taking  any  advantage  of  the  fact,  and  in  many 


Eusapia  Palladino  257 

Instances  Eusapla's  holding  of  our  hands  became  quite  un- 
satisfactory, and  her  hands  even  left  ours  altogether  for  the 
fraction  of  a  second,  returning  to  them  later — during  or  im- 
mediately before  the  production  of  a  phenomena.  While  we 
always  insisted  that  her  hands  should  be  immediately  re- 
placed on  ours  in  a  satisfactory  manner  upon  these  occasions, 
we  were,  nevertheless,  quite  certain  that  no  substitution  had 
taken  place,  for  the  reason  that  we  could  distinctly  see  her 
hand  the  whole  time,  and  noticed  that  she  did  not,  in  fact, 
produce  any  fraudulent  phenomenon  with  it — though,  had  the 
room  been  dark  and  had  we  been  compelled  to  judge  from 
the  sense  of  touch  alone,  unaided  by  sight,  we  should  cer- 
tainly have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  she  frequently  ef- 
fected a  substitution  of  hands,  and  produced  the  observed 
phenomena. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  then,  I  cannot  but  feel  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  supposed  substitutions  of  hands  at  Cam- 
bridge were,  in  fact,  not  real  substitutions  at  all,  but  merely 
instinctive  or  automatic  reflexes  on  Eusapia's  part — synchro- 
nizing with  the  phenomenon — and  that  her  hand  instinctively 
tried  to  free  itself  and  endeavored  to  reach  the  object  to  be 
removed  in  a  normal  manner.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
Eusapia  has  frequently  stated  that,  at  the  moment  of  the 
production  of  any  phenomenon,  she  feels  a  strong  desire  to 
produce  the  phenomenon  normally,  by  means  of  her  hands, 
and  unless  she  is  prevented  from  doing  so,  her  hand  will 
often  shoot  out  automatically  and  move  the  object  in  a 
natural  way.  But  if  she  be  prevented  from  doing  so,  and 
her  hands  are  securely  held,  this  instinctive  desire  is  pre- 
vented from  becoming  externalized  in  motor  expression  and 
the  phenomenon  is  produced  at  a  distance  from  the  medium 
— in  spite  of  the  utmost  rigor  as  to  the  control  of  her  hands. 


258  Eusapia  Palladino 

It  will  be  observed  that  almost  the  whole  of  Mrs.  Sidg- 
wick's  criticism  is  based  upon  the  supposed  substitution  of 
hands  and  feet,  and  is  colored,  naturally,  by  the  Cambridge 
exposure.  But,  as  I  have  before  pointed  out,  many  phenome- 
na have  been  observed  in  the  past,  and  were  observed  by  us, 
which  could  not  have  been  accounted  for  even  had  Eusapia 
freed  one  hand,  or  even  both  hands.  I  need  not  give  in- 
stances in  this  place,  since  they  are  numerous,  and  Mrs.  Sidg- 
wick  herself  admits  that  such  instances  exist.  But  once 
grant  the  genuine  character  of  at  least  some  of  the  phe- 
nomena and  what  rational  ground  is  there  for  refusing  to 
believe  that  a  large  proportion  of  them  are  also  genuine — 
only  that  the  evidence  does  not  prove  that  fact?  I  feel  quite 
convinced  that  at  least  the  majority  of  the  phenomena  we 
observed  were  genuine,  and  could  not  possibly  have  been 
produced  by  fraud,  and  I  think  this  is  the  opinion,  also,  of 
my  colleagues  and  of  the  majority  of  investigators  who  have 
had  a  large  number  of  sittings  v/ith  Eusapia,  and  who  pre- 
vented, instead  of  allowed,  fraud  on  her  part.  The  existence 
of  one  single  phenomenon  having  been  proved,  it  opens  the 
way  for  numbers  of  others,  equally  well  established,  and  even 
for  those  far  less  conclusively  proved — since,  all  a  priori  ob- 
jection having  been  removed,  it  becomes  merely  a  question 
of  sufficient  evidence.  We  ourselves  ascertained,  however, 
how  difficult  a  matter  it  is  to  present  evidence  of  the  sort 
which  would  be  necessary  to  convince  a  skeptic  who  had  not 
been  present  at  the  sittings ;  and,  bearing  in  mind  that  fact, 
and  remembering  our  own  previous  attitude  toward  these 
phenomena,  I  am  prepared  to  allow  the  critic  much  indul- 
gence, and  we  even  have  sympathy  with  those  minds  who 
cannot  as  yet  accept  the  phenomena  as  proved.  Personal 
sittings,  I  feel  assured,  would  finally  convince ;  and  short  of 


Eusapia  Palladino  259 

these,  the  utmost  I  can  hope  for  Is  that  the  printed  evidence, 
as  presented  in  our  own  series  of  sittings,  will  at  least  assist 
in  removing  a  large  number  of  doubts  and  objections  that 
have  existed  in  the  past,  relative  to  Eusapia's  mediumship. 

Of  course  it  is  conceivable  that  Eusapia  might  have  at- 
tached a  string  or  a  hair  to  some  of  the  smaller  objects  and 
moved  them  by  pulling  this  with  her  foot,  or  some  part  of 
her  body,  unnoticed  by  us ;  but  I  am  quite  convinced  that  she 
did  not  do  so,  ( i )  because  no  movement  of  the  sort  was  dis- 
covered;  (2)  because  there  was  a  clearly  lighted  space  be- 
tween her  body  and  the  object;  (3)  because  we  were  con- 
stantly on  the  alert  for  any  attempt  of  the  sort  on  her  part, 
and  were  on  the  lookout  for  any  movement  that  could  be 
construed  as  bending  down  and  affixing  hairs,  threads,  etc., 
to  objects;  (4)  because  we  ascertained  on  several  occasions 
that  no  such  hair,  thread,  or  string  was,  in  fact,  pulled 
during  the  actual  production  of  the  phenomenon.  I  cite  one 
case  by  way  of  illustration  of  this :  During  the  ninth  seance, 
the  small  stool  which  we  had  placed  just  outside  the  cabinet, 
about  three  feet  distant  from  the  medium,  came  out  of  its 
own  accord  and  moved  up  to  within  a  foot  of  her.  Eusapia 
waved  one  of  her  hands,  still  controlled  by  ours,  above  the 
stool,  and  It  moved  In  various  directions,  corresponding  to 
the  movements  of  her  hand.  She  then  approached  her  hand 
to  the  stool  and  a  complete  levitation  resulted.  One  of  us 
then  passed  his  hands  between  the  stool  and  the  medium's 
body,  and  along  the  carpet,  showing  that  no  thread,  hair, 
string,  or  other  attachment  was  possible.  We  picked  up  the 
stool  and  examined  it,  replacing  it  on  the  ground.  We  did 
not  allow  Eusapia  to  touch  the  stool  with  hand  or  foot,  after 
it  had  been  placed  on  the  floor,  but  held  her  hand  in  ours 
about  three  feet  above  the  stool,  and  held  her  leg  by  knee 


260  Eusapia  Palladino 

and  ankle  on  the  side  nearest  the  stool.  There  was  a  brightly 
illuminated  patch  of  carpet  of  about  eighteen  inches  between 
the  small  stool  and  her  skirt.  In  spite  of  these  precautions, 
however,  the  stool  immediately  began  its  movements,  and 
rose  into  the  air  several  times  under  the  hands  of  one  of  the 
investigators  and  without  being  touched  in  any  way  by  Eusa- 
pia. We  considered  that  this  was  a  test  phenomenon,  which 
had  been  obtained  under  conditions  absolutely  precluding 
fraud. 

If,  then,  fraud  is  unable  to  account  for  many  of  the  phe- 
nomena, it  is  certainly  rational  to  suppose  that  the  more 
marvelous  phenomena,  observed  from  time  to  time,  are  also 
due  to  some  supernormal  force,  and  cannot  be  accounted  for 
by  any  process  of  trickery  or  hallucination.  It  is  merely  a 
question  of  degree,  not  of  kind.  Once  grant  the  existence 
of  the  simplest  phenomenon,  unrecognized  by  physical  science, 
and  the  way  is  opened  for  the  admission  of  the  more  extraor- 
dinary facts,  which,  in  themselves,  would  prove  everwhelm- 
ingly  incredible. 

Before  I  had  had  my  personal  sittings,  I  had  been  an  ex- 
tremely severe  critic  of  the  reports  of  others — I  now  think, 
too  severe.  It  is  a  very  different  matter — being  convinced 
of  the  phenomena  oneself,  and  convincing  others.  Never  be- 
fore had  I  realized  how  impossible,  almost,  it  is  to  frame  a 
report  in  such  a  manner  that  it  shows  that  fraud  was  ab- 
solutely excluded.  To  those  who  have  not  had  much  ex- 
perience in  these  phenomena,  it  would  doubtless  appear  to 
be  extremely  simple ;  but  such  is  by  no  means  the  case.  Facts 
which  appear  to  the  onlooker  obvious  are  omitted  in  the 
report,  and  the  result  is  that,  when  the  report  appears  in 
print,  these  defects — as  they  seem  to  be  to  the  public — ap- 


Eusapia  Palladino  261 

pear  to  be  glaringly  conspicuous.  Thus,  when  the  hands 
of  the  medium  are  both  plainly  visible,  the  average  investi- 
gator does  not  think  of  constantly  reiterating  the  fact  that 
the  hands  are  visible  and  constantly  held;  yet  if  he  does  not 
say  so,  critics  who  do  not  see  the  progress  of  the  seance,  but 
only  the  printed  reports,  will  find  fault  with  him  for  not  stat- 
ing just  such  facts,  and  will  hold  that  the  seances  are  in- 
conclusive because  of  the  lack  of  these  recorded  impressions. 
Only  the  critic  who  knows  the  extreme  value  of  recording 
every  movement  of  the  medium,  would  think  of  recording, 
every  moment,  the  exact  position  of  her  hands  and  feet ;  so 
that,  when  phenomena  took  place,  they  were  accounted  for. 
In  our  sittings  we  endeavored  to  supply  this  hitherto  funda- 
mental defect,  and  supplied,  from  moment  to  moment,  exact 
descriptions  of  the  position  of  each  hand  and  each  foot.  This 
the  reader  will  see,  however,  when  consulting  the  detailed 
records. 

In  criticising  these  seances — i.e.,  the  work  of  other  men, 
before  obtaining  sittings  myself — I  wrote  in  part  as  follows 
•• — and  the  reader  will  see  that  I  certainly  did  not  lack  in 
skepticism.  In  reviewing  IVI.  Flammarion's  book.  Myste- 
rious Psychic  Forces,  I  said  : 

"Now,  in  going  over  the  facts  that  are  recorded  in  this 
book,  one  finds  many  loopholes  that  enable  one  to  think  that 
fraud  might  have  been  practised  on  such  and  such  an  occa- 
sion. Thus,  for  instance:  the  holding  of  the  medium  is  care- 
fully described,  and  the  amount  of  light  recorded.  It  is  then 
stated  that  the  sitters  changed  places,  and  soon  after  this, 
wonderful  phenomena  took  place.  But  it  will  be  observed 
that  we  are  not  told  how  the  medium  was  held  after  the  sit- 
ters changed  places,  and  if  the  amount  of  light  was  the  same. 
Again,  it  is  quite  inconclusive  to  anyone  who  knows  the  pos- 
sibilities of  fraud,  in  such  cases,  to  be  told  that  the  'medium 


I 


262  Eusapla  Palladino 

was  securely  held'  while  manifestations  were  in  progress. 
What  we  want  to  know  is  how  she  was  held  ;  and  that,  not  in 
general  terms  but  in  the  greatest  and  most  exact  detail.  The 
position  of  the  fingers  and  the  thumb  should  be  indicated,  and 
it  should  be  stated  what  parts  of  the  medium's  hand,  and  how 
much  of  it,  they  were  holding.  Again,  at  the  moment  of  the 
production  of  any  phenomenon,  the  control-holders  should 
makeit  a  point  of  never  looking  at  the  phenomenon,  but  of 
examining,  minutely,  the  hands  they  were  controlling,  and 
exchange  remarks  at  that  instant,  as  to  the  amount  of  control 
sustained,  and  how  satisfactory  it  was.  Further,  when  any 
object^  is  moved,  or  any  musical  instrument  played,  etc.,  it  is 
very  inconclusive  to  state  that  it  was  'at  some  distance' 
from  the  medium.  What  the  critic  wants  to  know  is  just 
hoiv  far^  away  the  object  was,  in  feet  and  inches,  and  he  can 
then  estimate  for  himself  the  possibility  of  fraud  on  the  part 
of  the  medium.  In  other  words,  the  critic  should  not  be 
called  upon  to  accept  the  judgment  of  any  of  those  forming 
the  circle  for  his  conclusions.  What  he  wants  is  the  facts, 
and  he  can  form  his  own  opinion  from  these.  These  opinions 
may  be  wrong,  but  it  must  be  emphasized  over  and  over 
again  that  the  only  way  in  which  the  scientific  man  can  ever 
be  influenced  is  by  patiently  recording  all  the  details — they 
cannot  be  too  detailed — and  allowing  the  critic  to  form  his 
opinions  of  the  phenomena  from  the  facts,  and  not  from  the 
opinions  of  the  persons  witnessing  the  facts. 

"It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  by  those  having  sittings  with 
Eusapia,  that  much  of  the  trickery  practised  by  professional 
mediums  is  prepared  beforehand,  and  almost  invariably  the 
trick  is  done  at  some  other  time  than  that  at  which  the  spec- 
tators suppose  it  is  done.  Just  as  the  conjurer  counts  'one, 
two,  three!'  and,  while  the  attention  of  the  spectators  is  fo- 
cused on  the  word  'three,'  and  what  is  to  happen  thereat, 
the  conjurer  has  opportunity  to  perform  the  trick  during  the 
'one,  two'  period,  or  even  before  the  counting  began  at  all. 
In  the  Palladino  case,  this  should  be  borne  in  mind,  and 
a  close  watch  kept  upon  the  movements  of  Eusapia  during  the 
intermissions  or  rests — to  see  that  she  does  not  attach  strings 


Eusapia  Palladino  263 

to  the  furniture,  make  imprints  in  the  prepared  putty,  etc. 
At  the  very  time  of  making  the  experiments  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  Eusapia  would  be  totally  unable  to  use  either  of 
her  hands  or  her  feet;  but  we  must  have  equal  surety  that 
she  has  not  had  the  opportunity  of  accomplishing  these  phe- 
nomena before  the  intermission  of  the  seance  closed.  Fre- 
quently we  are  told  that  sitters  are  enabled  to  rise  and  w^alk 
about  the  room,  look  behind  the  cabinet  curtains,  etc.  Does 
this  mean  that  they  have  broken  the  circle  in  order  to  do  this, 
or  was  there  no  circle  to  break?  Another  word  of  caution. 
The  imprints  of  hands,  faces,  etc.,  in  the  putty  or  clay,  were 
not,  apparently,  produced  by  Eusapia — at  least  at  the  time  of 
the  holding,  and  during  the  seance.  But  is  it  possible  that 
Eusapia  had  concealed  about  her  person  plaster  casts  of  hands 
and  faces  that  she  could  in  some  manner  impress  into  the 
clay  at  some  convenient  moment?  We  are  rarely  told  of  the 
searching  of  the  medium  ;  but  that  surely  should  be  invariably 
done.  If  this  had  been  done,  it  would  make  these  tests  far 
more  conclusive. 

"I  have  made  these  remarks  and  raised  these  objections, 
not  because  of  any  a  priori  objection  to  the  possibility  of  the 
phenomena,  but  merely  to  point  out  and  again  insist  upon  the 
fact  that  only  by  conducting  experiments  that  are  not  open 
to  just  such  objections  can  these  men,  experimenting  with 
Eusapia,  hope  to  convince  the  skeptical  world  that  here  are 
indeed  phenomena  that  are  not  due  to  fraud  and  trickery. 
The  best  way,  it  seems  to  me,  would  be  to  have  the  medium 
securely  handcuffed  to  the  sitters  on  either  side  of  her,  and 
the  keyholes  of  the  cul^s  sealed.  If  the  cuffs  were  tight, 
this  would  be  a  pretty  conclusive  test.  The  ankles  of  the 
medium  might  be  fastened  to  the  legs  of  the  chair  in  a  similar 
m.anner.  After  this  has  been  done,  and  before  the  lights  of 
the  seance  room  are  lowered,  one  of  the  circle  should  inspect 
the  instruments,  plates  of  clay,  etc.,  and  see  that  they  are  as 
yet  untouched.  If  the  medium  would  not  allow  this  (and 
why  should  she  not?),  then  let  the  sitter  on  each  side  of  her 
pull  the  arm  straight,  and  hold  the  medium's  hand  against 
his  chest  during  the  manifestations  with  his  own.    A  separate 


264  Eusapla  Palladino 

person  should  be  detailed  to  guard  the  feet.  A  code  might 
be  arranged  between  the  controls  (those  holding  the  hands) 
that  a  slight  and  peculiar  squeeze  of  the  hand  should  be  made 
ever  so  often,  and  if  one  of  the  controls  felt  this  squcr-^.e,  he 
would  be  certain  that  his  fellow  control  had  hold  of  hii-  hand, 
instead  of  that  of  the  medium — and  that  she  had  in  some 
manner  managed  to  free  hers.  This  would  be  a  signal  for 
closer  investigation,  and  the  trick  might  be  discovered. 

"Were  I  to  sum  up  the  results  of  this  book,  as  they  appear 
to  me ;  were  I  to  try  and  express  the  effect  upon  my  mind  of 
the  facts  recorded — endeavoring  to  keep  it  as  open  and  im- 
partial as  possible — I  should  say  that  the  actual  facts,  as  they 
took  place,  in  reality,  were  doubtless  in  many  instances  super- 
normal, and  were  the  results  of  some  unknown  force  or 
forces ;  but  I  must  also  insist  that  in  very  rare  instances  does 
the  evidence  presented  in  the  book  prove  this.  I  feel  that,  had 
I  been  there  in  person,  I,  too,  should  have  been  convinced ; 
but  the  printed  evidence  is  far  from  satisfactory  and  conclu- 
sive, and  it  is  that  which  the  critic  will  see  and  only  that  will 
he  weigh.  The  conditions  of  the  seance  are  very  rarely  such 
as  to  force  recognition  and  acceptance  of  the  facts;  but, 
partly  because  some  of  the  phenomena  appear  to  be  indubi- 
table, it  would  be  rash  and  dogmatic  to  contend,  a  priori,  for 
the  'impossibility'  of  the  others.  M.  Flammarion  has  done 
his  best  to  furnish  all  particulars  of  his  seances,  and  he  is  to 
be  complimented  on  his  painstaking  and  worthy  effort.  But 
other  reports  are  far  from  being  sufficiently  detailed.  When 
will  the  investigators  of  Eusapia  learn  that  no  detail  can  be 
too  trivial  and  insignificant;  that  in  these  very  details  con- 
sists, frequently,  the  clew  to  the  mystery,  and  that  no  report 
will  ever  be  regarded  as  final  and  conclusive  without  them? 
The  most  minute  detail  should  be  given  as  to  the  relative  po- 
sition of  the  fingers,  when  holding  the  hands;  when  the  con- 
trol was  changed  ;  how  the  new  control  was  effected  ;  whether 
the  change  of  control  was  effected  in  the  light  or  in  the  dark, 
and  a  thousand  other  details  that  cannot  be  enumerated  here. 
It  must  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  subjective  impres- 
sion of  the  sitters  is  of  no  value,  relatively,  to  one  who  has 


Eusapia  Palladino  265 

not  had  sittings  with  the  mecllum ;  and,  to  one  who  knows 
the  possibilities  of  fraud,  there  is  always  a  grave  doubt  in  the 
mind  as  to  sureness  of  conditions,  sufficiency  of  control,  etc. 
— especially  in  a  case  like  Eusapia's — where  fraud  has  been 
proved  to  exist  over  and  over  again.  Accounts  of  some  of 
the  Liter  seances — those  narrated  in  the  Annals  of  Psychical 
Science,  e.g. — appear  to  render  fraud  quite  impossible,  but 
these  cannot  be  considered  here,  since  they  are  not  included 
in  M.  Flammarion's  book.  It  is  at  any  rate  a  comfort  to 
know  that  a  series  of  experiments  is  being  conducted  by 
scientific  men,  and  that  Eusapia  is  not  to  pass  from  us  as  D. 
D.  Home  did,  with  virtually  no  indorsements,  save  that  of  Sir 
William  Crookes.  If  experiments  upon  the  present  lines  can 
be  carried  on  for  a  number  of  years,  with  constantly  improving 
conditions,  we  may  be  assured  that  conviction  will  ultimately 
be  borne  in  upon  the  scientific  world ;  and  then  what  a  re- 
casting of  old  prejudices  and  conceptions  there  will  be!  It 
may  be  said  that  M.  Flammarion,  in  the  excellent  and  in- 
tensely interesting  book  under  review,  will  doubtless  have 
helped  greatly  to  bring  this  result  to  pass;  to  have  demon- 
strated that  the  present  scheme  of  science  is  not  a  'closed 
circle'  but  that,  behind  and  beyond  this  world  of  matter  and 
effects  there  is  a  world  of  forces  and  causes  the  width  and 
depth  and  extent  of  which  we  are  only  just  beginning  to 
fathom  and  realize." 

I  further  proposed  that  luminous  paint  might  be  applied 
to  the  hands,  so  that  they  might  be  seen  the  more  easily  In 
the  dark — not  knowing  that  her  hands  are  usually  more  or 
less  visible  throughout  the  sittings.  I  also  found  fault  with 
the  photographs  that  had  been  published,  saying:  "I  do  not 
for  a  moment  question  the  interest  and  value  of  these  photo- 
graphs, I  only  say  that  they  appear  to  me  to  be  Inconclusive. 
And  all  photographs  are  open  to  this  fundamental  objection. 
They  give  us  a  picture,  merely,  of  what  is  actually  happen- 
ing at  any  one  time,  without  telling  us  the  preceding  actions 
of  the  medium  and  others  present,  leading  up  to  that  event. 


266  Eusapia  Palladino 

What  we  should  have,  in  order  to  be  conclusive,  is  a  series 
of  photographs,  and  preferably  a  cinematographic  record  of 
the  seance.  In  that  manner  we  should  be  enabled  to  follow 
every  movement  of  the  medium  throughout.  Might  not  such 
an  apparatus  be  devised  ?  We  should  not,  in  that  case,  have 
to  depend  on  the  unaided  powers  of  observation  of  the  sitters, 
but  would  have  demonstrable  proof  that  the  phenomena 
were  objective  realities."  It  will  be  seen  from  my  own  pre- 
vious attitude  in  the  matter  that  I  could  not  be  accused  of 
credulit)^  whatever  else  might  be  laid  to  my  door.  And  I 
think  the  fact  that  I  was  completely  convinced  of  the 
reality  of  the  phenomena,  in  spite  of  my  previous  skepticism, 
should  at  least  have  some  weight.  Fraud,  I  am  quite 
convinced,  cannot  explain  the  facts  observed  in  Eusapia's 
presence. 

Having  thus  exhausted  all  normal  explanations  of  these 
phenomena,  let  us  now  turn  to  their  possible  explanation  by 
other  theories.  Before  doing  so,  however,  I  wish  to  insist 
upon  one  point,  which  is  of  great  importance.  It  is  this: 
That,  having  once  given  up  the  theory  of  fraud  as  inadequate 
to  account  for  the  facts,  it  is  useless  to  keep  reverting  to  it, 
and  keeping  it  in  the  back  of  the  mind  as  a  "possible"  ex- 
planation. I  trust  that  I  have  shown  that  fraud  is  unable 
to  explain  all  the  phenomena  witnessed  at  Eusapia's  seances, 
and  that  being  the  case,  let  us  seek  in  other  directions,  and 
glance  at  the  various  theories  that  have  been  advanced  from 
time  to  time  in  the  past,  by  way  of  explaining  these  phe- 
nomena. Having  once  eliminated  what  might  be  called  the 
"natural"  or  "normal"  explanations,  let  us  turn  to  a  con- 
sideration of  those  theories  that  attempt  to  explain  the  facts 
upon  other  lines — those  theories  that  admit  their  reality, 
while  attempting  to  account  for  the  facts  as  best  they  can. 


Eusapia  Palladino  267 

Several  writers  agree  more  or  less  in  their  interpretation 
of  the  phenomena,  though  differing  in  the  detail  of  their 
theory.  Thus,  several  writers  have  advanced  the  idea  first 
proposed  by  Gasparin — that  some  fluid  emanates  from  the 
body  of  the  medium  and  produces  the  effects  seen.  Thury 
took  a  very  similar  view,  calling  this  hypothetical  fluid 
psychode.  Sir  William  Crookes,  many  years  ago,  advanced 
his  theory  of  "ps^xhic  force,"  which  is  closely  akin  to  the 
above  theories.  This  force  it  is  which  produces  the  phe- 
nomena. It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  very  close  approxi- 
mation of  theories,  but  none  of  them  can  be  said  to  explain 
all  the  facts,  inasmuch  as  this  fluid  has  never  been  discovered ; 
and  because,  while  it  would  explain  all  the  lesser  phenomena 
— movements  of  objects,  etc. — it  would  not  explain  the  cases 
of  materializations,  etc,  that  have  taken  place  from  time 
to  time,  and  which  still  need  explanation.  The  intelligence 
connected  with  the  phenomena  would  still  have  to  be  ac- 
counted for. 

Professor  Lombroso  was  at  first  inclined  to  believe  that 
in  these  phenomena  are  to  be  found  instances  of  "trans- 
formation of  forces" — a  theory  which  he  abandoned  later,  and 
has  practically  adopted  the  spiritistic  hypothesis — a  position 
already  taken  by  Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  and  numerous  other 
scientists.  Certainly  his  earlier  theory  would  not  account  for 
the  facts — and  the  spiritistic  hypothesis  as  generally  held, 
cannot  be  said  to  do  so  either.  And  for  the  following  rea- 
sons. 

Even  if  the  existence  of  spirits  were  granted,  we  should 
still  have  great  difficulty  in  accounting  for  many  of  the  facts 
in  detail,  and  the  theory  seems  to  be  in  direct  opposition  to 
other  phenomena.  Thus,  when  Eusapia  says,  "I  am  going 
to  fetch  something  out  of  the  cabinet  with  my  foot" — and 


268  Eusapia  Palladino 

then  proceeds  to  kick  about  under  the  table  and  the  Instru- 
ment in  the  cabinet  comes  out  with  a  rush — this  is  certainly 
in  consequence  of  a  force  controlled  by  herself — which  force 
appears  to  be  under  the  direction  of  her  own  conscious  mind. 
No  external  agent  is  involved  in  the  production  of  such  a 
phenomenon,  therefore — which  appears  to  be  the  result  of 
a  voluntarily  controlled  force,  issuing  from  the  medium's 
body.  When  the  medium  wills  the  production  of  a  phe- 
nomenon, and  the  thing  immediately  occurs,  it  is  absurd 
to  contend  that  "spirits"  are  involved  in  its  production.  That 
would  be  clearly  reverting  to  "animism"  in  its  most  primi- 
tive form;  and  we  should  have  to  abandon  all  our  ideas  of 
scientific  causation.  No;  while  such  a  theory  may  be  said 
to  explain  a  large  number  of  the  facts,  and  even  explain  them 
in  a  satisfactory  manner,  it  cannot  be  said  to  explain  them 
all,  and  any  theory  which  cannot  do  that  cannot  be  said  to 
be  final  and  conclusive. 

Colonel  Albert  de  Rochas  believes  that  these  phenomena 
are  due  to  an  "exteriorization  (or  externalization)  of  mo- 
tivity."  An  astral  body  of  the  medium,  composed  of  some 
sort  of  nerve  fluid,  is  supposed  to  exist,  and  this  duplicate 
body  is  enabled  to  perceive  and  act  at  a  distance  from  the 
medium's  physical  body.  It  is  a  sort  of  projection  beyond 
the  periphery  of  the  nervous  force  of  the  medium  (as  in  the 
first  theories),  only  In  this  case  this  force  is  more  than  a 
mere  blind,  liberated  energy — It  might  be  considered  as  being 
the  astral  double  or  replica  of  the  medium's  body.  This  Is 
the  view  which  the  astronomer  Porro  Is  Inclined  to  take,  as 
well  as  other  noted  scientists.  Professor  Ochorowicz  also  be- 
lieves in  a  "fluldic  double,"  which  produces  these  phenomena. 

There  are  many  facts  which  seem  to  prove  conclusively 
that  some  such  vital  emanation  does  proceed  from  the  me- 


Eusapia  Palladino  269 

dium,  and  that  it  can  condense  and  produce  plastic  effects  in 
space  outside  the  body  of  the  medium.  Dr.  Fere  observed 
luminous  radiations  proceeding  from  the  body  of  several  of 
his  patients  in  broad  daylight.  Reichenbach's  experiments 
have  never  been  satisfactorily  explained.  An  emanation  of 
the  kind  is  seen  to  be  issuing  from  the  medium's  body  in 
several  photographs  that  have  been  taken  at  various  times — 
photographs  which  were  intended  to  prove  other  things  en- 
tirely. Colonel  de  Rochas'  experiments  are,  some  of  them, 
very  striking. 

In  discussing  these  phenomena  this  authority  says: 

"With  certain  persons,  who  are  known  as  psychics,  the 
adhesiveness  of  the  nervous  fluid  to  the  carnal  organism  is 
feeble,  so  that  they  may  even,  under  various  influences,  pro- 
ject this  nervous  fluid  outside  their  bodies.  .  .  .  Experiment 
has  also  shown  that  this  fluidic  body  is  able  to  model  itself 
under  the  influence  of  the  will,  like  clay  under  a  sculptor's 
hand,  and  thus  to  present  the  form  of  this  or  that  personage 
called  up  by  the  thought  of  the  medium  or  that  of  the 
magnetizer.  .  .  .  The  frequent  formation  of  hands  above 
Eusapia's  head,  exactly  on  the  spot  where  she  has  a  hypno- 
genic  opening,  would  be  the  result  of  an  almost  abnormal 
withdrawal  of  a  large  quantity  of  fluid  at  this  point.  .  .  ." 

Is  any  proof  offered  for  this  theory?  Colonel  de  Rochas 
does  offer  one  case,  which,  he  asserts,  goes  to  prove  his  con- 
tention, and  which  is  certainly  very  striking.  It  is  the  fol- 
lowing strange  incident: 

"One  day  M.  de  Watteville  desired,  in  my  presence,  to 
photograph  Eusapia  between  Count  de  Grammont  and  Dr. 
Dariex.  The  photograph  having  been  taken,  I  chaffed  Dr. 
Dariex,  who  is  small  of  stature  and  who  was  standing  with 
his  hand  in  his  waistcoat,  saying  to  him:  'Doctor,  you  re- 
semble Napoleon.'    The  plate,  however,  was  preserved,  but 


270  Eusapia  Palladino 

a  thing  which  no  one  could  foresee  is  that  the  profile  of  Napo- 
leon stands  out  very  clearly  on  the  background  by  the  side 
of  the  water  post  which  seems  to  serve  as  a  pedestal  for  it, 
but  there  was  nothing  to  explain  this  appearance,  notwith- 
standing other  attempts  afterwards  made  in  the  same  place."^ 

Now  it  would  seem  to  me  that  this  case  fails  to  prove  its 
point,  first,  for  the  reason  that  (as  stated  in  the  text)  the 
exposure  had  been  made  before  the  remark  was  passed  about 
Napoleon,  and  hence  we  cannot  assume  that  the  contents 
of  the  medium's  mind  could  have  affected  the  results  in  any 
manner — even  if  his  theory  were  true.  In  the  next  place,  this 
is  but  one  case  against  all  past  experience.  In  the  third  place, 
the  resemblance  to  Napoleon  may  have  been  more  fancied 
than  real.  And  in  the  fourth  place,  the  hypothesis  does  not 
cover  those  cases  in  which  knowledge  is  exhibited  by  the 
phantom  which  the  medium  did  not  know  at  the  time  and 
never  had  known.  An  example  of  this  will  be  given  on  p. 
284. 

While  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  such  a  theory, 
therefore,  there  is  also  much  to  be  said  against  it.  How  can 
this  etheric  double  be  possessed  of  a  will  and  intelligence  of 
its  own — as  the  phenomena  frequently  show  must  be  the 
case?  How  can  an  "etheric  double"  or  anything  correspond- 
ing to  it  produce  impressions  of  altogether  different  faces  and 
hands  in  wet  clay,  as  is  so  often  done?  If  these  impressions 
were  those  of  the  medium,  we  could  understand  it;  but  when 
they  are  those  of  persons  entirely  dissimilar  to  Eusapia,  how 
can  we  conceive  that  this  body  could  produce  such  impres- 
sions? It  would  seem  impossible  for  it  to  do  so;  and  we 
must,  accordingly,  reject  this  hypothesis,  as  we  have  rejected 
all  those  in  the  past,  as  inadequate  to  account  for  the  facts. 

^Annals  of  Psychical  Science,  April- June,  1909,  pp.  227-8. 


Eusapia  Palladino  271 

Dr.  Grasset,  a  celebrated  physician,  thinks  that  the  expla- 
nation is  to  be  found  in  the  "psychopathology  of  the  nervous 
centers."  When  it  has  been  shown  just  how  the  nervous 
centers  produce  these  phenomena,  I  think  we  may  seriously 
consider  this  hypothesis,  and  not  before!  Dr.  J.  Maxwell 
believes  that  most  of  the  phenomena  are  to  be  explained  by 
the  operation  of  a  force  within  us;  and  that  the  intelligence 
operative  in  their  production  is  some  kind  of  a  "composite 
consciousness" — composed  of  the  minds  of  the  circle  of  ex- 
perimenters. It  is,  in  fact,  a  sort  of  "collective  conscious- 
ness." M.  Marcel  Mangin  is  also  disposed  to  adopt  this 
idea.  I  think  there  is  not  one  particle  of  evidence  that 
can  be  urged  in  favor  of  such  a  theory — but  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, nearly  all  the  facts  are  opposed  to  it. 

Other  investigators  speak  of  "ectenic  force,"  "psycho- 
dynamism,"  and  other  hypothetical  forces,  more  or  less  in- 
telligent, which  are  supposed  to  issue  from  the  body  of  the 
medium.  The  objections  that  have  been  urged  above  apply 
to  all  these  theories:  viz.,  wt  have  not  the  least  evidence, 
outside  of  these  phenomena,  of  the  existence  of  such  a  force ; 
and  it  is  contrary  to  scientific  method  to  explain  unknown 
facts  in  terms  of  the  unknown.  We  can  only  "explain"  phe- 
nomena by  bringing  them  into  the  realm  of  the  known,  and 
showing  their  connection  with  the  known.  And  until  evi- 
dence of  the  existence  of  these  "forces"  is  obtained,  it  is  use- 
less to  explain  remarkable  phenomena  by  means  of  them. 

Yet  other  observers  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a  third 
arm  is  materialized  during  the  seances,  and  that  this  arm 
is  that  which  produces  the  phenomena!  So  positive  of  the 
fact  were  these  investigators,  indeed,  that  they  insisted  on 
stripping  and  searching  Eusapia,  to  see  whether  or  not  such 
an  appendage  might  not  be  there.     None  such  was  found! 


272  Eusapia  Palladino 

Those  experimenters  who  defended  this  theory  did  so  on  the 
ground  that  real  hands  appeared,  and  produced  phenomena, 
when  both  hands  of  the  medium  were  clearly  held.  As  this 
third  hand  seemed  to  be  under  the  dominating  influence  of 
Eusapia,  they  concluded  that  some  artificial  prolongation  had 
actually  taken  place.  They  were  forced  to  conclude  that 
some  prolongation,  usually  invisible,  and  impalpable,  became 
visible  and  palpable,  and  took  the  form  of  an  artificial  hand, 
having  flesh  and  muscles. 

The  a  priori  objections  to  this  hypothesis  need  hardly  be 
pointed  out;  but  I  shall  not  consider  these.  Within  itself, 
the  hypothesis  is  unable  to  explain  all  the  facts.  It  might 
explain  touches  and  movements  of  objects  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  medium,  but  the  more  distant  phenomena — 
the  appearance  of  heads  and  faces,  the  appearance  of  lights, 
the  impressions,  in  clay,  of  faces,  differing  from  that  of  the 
medium — it  explains  none  of  these  things,  nor  does  any  simi- 
lar theory,  advanced  to  date. 

Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  in  his  original  Report  upon  Eusapia, 
advanced  a  tentative  theory,  based  on  the  sympathetic  move- 
ments observed  whenever  objects  at  a  distance  were  moved, 

or  other  similar  phenomena  occurred.     He  says  in  part: 
\ 

"When  the  accordion  is  being  played,  the  fingers  of  the 
medium  are  moving  in  a  thoroughly  appropriate  manner, 
and  the  process  reminds  one  of  the  twitching  of  a  dog's  legs 
when  he  is  supposed  to  be  dreaming  that  he  is  chasing  a 
hare.  It  is  as  if  Eusapia  were  dreaming  that  she  was  finger- 
ing an  instrument,  and  dreaming  it  so  vividly  that  the  in- 
strument was  actually  played.  It  is  as  if  a  dog  dreamed  of 
the  chase  with  such  energy  that  a  distant  hare  was  really  cap- 
tured and  killed,  as  if  by  a  phantom  dog;  and,  fanciful  as 
for  the  moment  it  may  seem,  and  valueless  as  I  must  suppose 
such  speculations  are,  I  am,  I  confess,  at  present  more  than 


Eusapia  Palladino  273 

half  disposed  to  look  in  some  such  direction  for  a  clew  to 
these  effects.  In  an  idealistic  interpretation  of  nature,  it  has 
by  many  philosophers  been  considered  that  thought  is  the 
reality,  and  that  material  substratum  is  but  a  consequence  of 
thought.  So,  in  a  minor  degree,  it  appears  here:  it  is  as  if, 
let  us  say,  the  dream  of  the  entranced  person  were  vivid 
enough  to  physically  affect  surrounding  objects  and  actually 
to  produce  objective  results — to  cause  not  only  real  and  per- 
manent movements  of  ordinary  objects,  but  also  temporary 
fresh  aggregations  of  material  particles  into  extraordinary 
objects;  these  aggregations  being  objective  enough  to  be  felt, 
heard,  seen,  and  probably  even  photographed,  while  they 
last." 

There  is  at  least  one  class  of  phenomena,  however,  which 
cannot  be  explained  upon  this  theory — namely,  those  in 
which  an  independent  intelligence  is  displayed,  other  than 
that  of  the  medium — since  we  should  have  to  assume,  on  the 
above  theory,  that  only  Eusapia's  will  was  responsible  for 
the  facts.  Yet  there  are  many  phenomena  which  do  not 
seem  to  be  controlled  by  her  will,  but  on  the  contrary  occur 
in  direct  opposition  to  it.  An  instance  of  this  occurred  in  our 
own  sittings,  when  Eusapia  said  she  was  tired,  and  asked 
John  if  the  seance  might  end.  John  replied  by  rapping  twice 
for  "No,"  and  the  seance  was  resumed.  Soon  after  we  ob- 
tained four  complete  levitations  of  the  table,  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, and  under  excellent  test  conditions,  and  John  then  per- 
mitted the  seance  to  terminate.  Here,  then,  we  have  evidence 
of  an  external  intelligence,  differing  from  that  of  Eusapia, 
and  expressing  wishes  in  direct  opposition  to  her  own.  Can 
we  assume  that  any  such  theory  as  the  above  would  explain 
these  facts? 

The  theory  has  been  advanced  that,  while  the  conscious 
mind  of  the  medium  is  not  involved  in  the  production  of  the 


274  Eusapia  Palladino 

phenomena,  the  subconscious  mind  is  active,  and  in  fact  it  is 
that  which  is  operative  and  which  produces  these  phenomena. 
Mjxrs  first  proposed  this  theory,  and  has  elaborated  it  in 
great  detail  in  his  Human  Personality.  This  subconscious 
mental  life  supposedly  possesses  thoughts,  desires,  and  voli- 
tions of  its  own ;  and  possesses  also,  according  to  the  hypothe- 
sis, various  faculties  and  powers,  which  normally  remain  latent 
in  this  life,  but  which  may  be  called  into  activity  at  certain 
times,  under  certain  exceptional  conditions.  This  subcon- 
sciousness is  supposed,  by  some,  to  be  endowed  with  the  facul- 
ties, not  only  of  telepathy  and  clairvoyance,  but  with  the 
capacity  for  moving  physical  objects  at  a  distance  from  the 
body  of  the  medium!  As  Dr.  Geley  expressed  it:  "A  certain 
amount  of  force,  intelligence,  and  matter  of  the  body  may 
perform  work  outside  of  the  organism — act,  perceive,  or- 
ganize, and  think,  without  the  collaboration  of  muscles,  or- 
gans, senses,  and  brain.  It  is  nothing  less  than  the  uplifted 
subconscious  portion  of  our  being;  it  constitutes,  in  truth, 
an  externalizable  subconscious  nature,  existing  in  the  Me 
with  the  normal  conscious  nature."  ( The  Subconscious  Na- 
ture, p.  82.) 

Hartmann,  as  w^e  know,  attempted  to  explain  all  phenom- 
ena on  his  theory  of  "The  Unconscious."  The  theory  was 
( I )  that  a  nervous  force  can  produce,  outside  the  limits  of 
the  human  body,  mechanical  and  plastic  effects;  (2)  that 
duplicate  hallucinations  of  this  same  nervous  force  exist,  pro- 
ducing also  physical  and  plastic  effects;  (3)  that  a  latent, 
somnambulistic  consciousness  (the  subject  being  in  the  nor- 
mal state)  capable  of  reading  in  the  intellectual  background 
of  another  man  his  present  and  his  past,  and  being  able  to 
divine  the  future,  is  operative. 

Aksakof,  in  his  Animism  and  Spiritism,  replied  at  great 


I 


Eusapia  Palladino  275 

length  to  this  theorj-,  and  showed  that  it  was  unable  to  ex- 
plain all  the  phenomena  that  had  been  observed  by  various 
investigators.  I  do  not  think  that  many  readers  will  hesi- 
tate to  accept  his  conclusions  also.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there 
is  ha.  Jly  any  evidence  whatever  that  the  "subconscious  mind" 
can  do  any  of  these  things,  and  the  theory  seems  to  me  to 
be  one  deliberately  invented  in  order  to  neutralize  the  simpler 
theory  of  spiritism,  which,  in  scientific  minds,  did  not  appear 
to  be  acceptable.  Whether  spiritism  be  true  or  not,  however, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  scientific  world  has  not  taken  kindly 
to  Hartmann's  theory,  and  that  it  is  accepted  by  no  one. 

M.  Guillaume  De  Fontenay,  in  his  w^ork,  A  propos  d'Eiisa- 
pia  Palladino,  ingeniously  tried  to  explain  the  phenomena  by 
a  dynamic  theory  of  matter.  According  to  this  theory,  the 
solidity  and  stability  of  matter  can  no  more  be  said  to  be 
real  than  the  light  that  strikes  our  eyes,  or  the  sound  our 
ears.  What  corresponds  to  solidity  and  stabilit)'  in  matter 
would,  in  reality,  consist  of  disturbances  or  vortices  in  the 
ether.  Life  itself  would  be  a  special  kind  of  movement — 
this  m.ovement  being  determined  and  organized  by  a  direct- 
ing force.  Applying  this  theory  to  the  facts  before  us,  we 
might  be  enabled  to  account,  in  some  degree,  for  the  phe- 
nomena observed.  For,  in  this  case,  the  vital  force  of  the 
medium  would  externalize  itself,  and  produce  in  a  point  of 
space  a  vibratory  system,  which  would  be  the  counterpart  of 
itself,  in  a  more  or  less  advanced  degree  of  visibilitj-  and 
solidity.  So  far  as  duplicate  apparitions  of  the  medium  are 
concerned,  therefore,  we  might  conceive  that  this  hypothesis 
goes  a  long  way  toward  explaining  the  facts ;  but  it  would  fail 
to  explain  the  foreign  intelligences  manifested  during  a 
seance,  or  the  materializations  of  heads,  hands,  and  even  com- 
plete forms,  differing  from  those  of  Eusapia. 


276  Eusapia  Palladino 

Other  investigators  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  in- 
dependent intelligences  are  manifested  during  a  seance,  but 
that  these  intelligences  are  not  those  of  human  beings.  That 
is,  spirits  are  present,  but  not  necessarily  the  souls  of  the  dead. 
All  kinds  of  spiritual  beings  might  exist,  and  fill  the  space 
all  about  us,  without  our  ever  knowing  anything  of  them 
except  under  unusual  circumstances.  In  fact,  we  find  in  the 
literatures  of  all  nations  references  to  demons,  angels,  gnomes, 
goblins,  spirits,  specters,  elementals,  etc.  It  might  be  that 
these  legends  have  some  foundation  in  fact!  Some  psychic 
researchers  of  the  present  day  are,  in  fact,  inclined  to  defend 
this  hypothesis  in  certain  instances — there  being  much  evi- 
dence tending  to  show  that  "evil  spirits"  are  operative  in  the 
production  of  phenomena — phenomena  Indicating  external,  in- 
dependent intelligence.  Nevertheless,  no  scientific  man  could 
accept  this  theory  unless  some  definite  evidence  were  ad- 
vanced in  its  support.  We  are  not  entitled  to  assume  that 
even  human  consciousness  exists  apart  from  bodily  structure, 
until  It  has  been  proved ;  and  if  that  Is  the  case  with  human 
consciousness,  which  we  know  exists  in  this  life,  we  should 
require  a  great  deal  more  evidence  to  prove  that  independent 
intelligences  of  other  types  existed — since  we  have  no  scien- 
tific evidence  at  all  that  they  exist  or  have  ever  existed  m 
connection  with  bodily  frames!  Though  one  could  not  say 
"impossible"  to  such  a  theory,  therefore,  definite  evidence 
would  have  to  be  advanced  that  such  Intelligences  exist  quite 
apart  from  these  phenomena;  and  until  such  evidence  Is  pro- 
duced, I  feel  that  it  is  useless  to  discuss  this  hypothesis 
further. 

Some  authorities  have  advanced  the  theory  that  a  sort  of 
reflection,  or  reflex  action,  is  sufficient  to  explain  the  phe- 
nomena.    Says  M.  Flammarion: 


Eusapia  Palladino  277 

"Everyone  has  seen  his  image  reflected  in  a  mirror,  and 
nobody  is  astonished  by  it.  However,  analyze  the  thing. 
The  more  you  look  at  this  optical  being  moving  there  behind 
the  mirror,  the  more  remarkable  the  thing  appears  to  you. 
Now,  suppose  looking-glasses  had  not  been  invented.  If 
we  had  not  knowledge  of  those  immense  mirrors  which  re- 
flect whole  apartments  and  visitors  in  them,  if  we  had  never 
seen  anything  of  the  kind,  and  if  some  one  should  tell  us  that 
images  and  reflections  of  living  persons  could  thus  manifest 
themselves,  and  thus  move,  we  should  not  comprehend  and 
should  not  believe  it. 

"Yes,  the  ephemeral  personification,  created  in  spiritual- 
istic seances,  sometimes  recalls  the  image  that  we  see  in  a 
mirror,  which  has  nothing  real  in  itself,  but  which  j'et  exists 
and  reproduces  the  original.  The  image  fixed  by  the  photo- 
graph is  of  the  same  kind,  only  durable.  The  potential  image 
formed  at  the  focus  of  the  mirror  of  a  telescope,  invisible  in 
itself,  but  which  we  can  receive  on  a  level  mirror  and  study, 
at  the  same  time  enlarging  it  by  the  microscope  of  the  eye- 
piece, perhaps  approaches  nearer  to  that  which  seems  to  be 
produced  by  the  concentration  of  the  psychical  energy  of  a 
group  of  persons.  We  create  an  imaginary  being;  we  speak 
to  it,  and  in  its  replies  it  almost  always  reflects  the  mentality 
of  the  experimenters.  And,  just  as  with  the  aid  of  mirrors, 
we  can  concentrate  light,  heat,  ether  waves,  electric  waves, 
in  a  focus — so,  in  the  same  way,  it  seems  sometimes  as  if 
the  sitters  added  their  psychic  forces  to  those  of  the  medium 
— condensing  the  waves,  and  helping  to  produce  a  sort  of 
fugitive  being,  more  or  less  material.  The  subconscious  na- 
ture, the  brain,  of  the  medium,  or  its  astral  body,  the  fluidic 
mind,  the  unknown  powers  latent  in  sensitive  organisms — 
might  we  not  consider  these  as  the  mirror  which  we  have 
just  imagined,  and  might  not  this  mirror  also  perceive  and 
reproduce  impressions,  or  influences  from  a  soul  at  a  dis- 
tance?" 

Professor  Morselli,  though  firmly  believing  in  the  facts, 
ridicules   the  spiritistic  interpretation  of  them  and  clings  to 


278  Eusapia  Palladino 

the  idea  that  these  "teleplastlc  phantoms,"  seen  at  Eusapia's 
seances,  are  the  creations  of  her  subconscious  mind,  and  are 
merely  mental  reflexes  of  her  subliminal  activity.  When 
facts  are  told  by  the  phantoms,  unknown  to  the  medium, 
these  are  supposed  to  be  obtained,  telepathically,  from  the 
minds  of  the  sitters.  Nevertheless,  I  am  convinced  that  the 
majority  of  students  of  these  phenomena  would  consider  this 
by  far  the  more  improbable  hypothesis  of  the  two;  and  that 
it  has  not  any  real  evidence  in  its  support  whatever.  Pro- 
fessor Lombroso,  in  criticising  Morselli's  book,  justly  says: 

"When,  therefore,  Morselli  attempts  to  explain  the  dis- 
agreement of  John  with  his  medium,  when  he  went  so  far 
as  to  cuff  her  because  she  refused  to  hold  a  seance  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  by  saying  that  the  medium  tried  to  be  'more 
medium  than  the  medium,'  in  order  to  convince  the  sitters  of 
her  sincerity,  he  juggles  with  subtleties  which,  through  being 
too  subtle,  break  down  under  the  evidence ;  and,  in  fact,  when 
Eusapia  refused,  since  she  was  too  tired,  to  work  on  the  next 
day,  it  was  for  a  very  good  reason,  because  the  seance  in  such 
a  case  would  not  have  been  successful. 

"Another  explanation  which  errs  through  excess  of  subtlety 
is  that  of  the  levitation  of  Eusapia,  which  took  place  slowly, 
without  shocks,  like  a  person  who  dreams  that  he  is  flying; 
and  he  adds,  mistakenly:  'not,  however,  as  though  the  me- 
dium was  carried  upward  by  a  force  acting  on  her  from 
without.'  But  when  one  dreams  of  flying,  one  has  the  illu- 
sion of  moving  suddenly  and  rapidly,  and  not  seated  on  one's 
chair,  but  rising  upv/ard,  and  that  not  slowly.  Besides,  what 
relation  is  there  between  an  illusion,  a  mere  dream,  and  a 
real   fact   that  is  tangible    to  other   persons? 

"It  is  notable  also  that  when  he  finds  himself  confronted 
Math  new  and  important  facts,  he  tries  to  throw  doubt  on 
them  through  excess  of  impartiality.  Thus,  having  weighed 
Eusapia  before  and  after  the  seance,  he  finds  that  at  the  end 
of  the  sitting  her  weight  had  diminished  by  2.2  kilogrammes, 


Eusapia  Palladino  279 

or  nearly  5  lbs.  (Vol.  II,  p.  293),  but  he  remarks  that  this 
diminution  in  weight  arose  from  her  moving  about  while 
she  was  on  the  scale,  and  thus  throwing  the  balance  out  of 
equilibrium.  Now,  his  criticism  might  have  been  just  if 
Eusapia  had  moved ;  but  it  is  not  so  at  another  time  when  he 
admits  that  she  did  not  move,  but  remained  rigid  on  the  scale ; 
here  it  is  evident  that  if  the  results  in  both  cases  are  to  be 
taken  as  negative,  the  conditions  ought  to  have  been  the  same, 
and  not  different ;  all  the  more  so  as  this  alteration  in  weight 
coincides  with  what  was  observed  on  other  occasions  by  Gyel 
and  Aksakoff,  and  indirectly  by  Visani  Scozzi  when  he  saw 
her  lose  her  lower  limbs  during  a  levitation. 

"Yet  he  attaches  some  importance  (V^ol.  I,  p.  351)  to  the 
loss  in  dynamometric  force  by  five  of  the  sitters,  amounting 
to  6  kilos  on  the  right  side  and  14  on  the  left;  while  the 
fact  might  be  explained  otherw^ise  than  by  the  left-handedness 
of  the  medium,  as  being  due  to  the  weariness  produced  by 
a  long  sitting  and  great  nervous  strain. 

"More  importance,  on  the  other  hand,  should  have  been 
given  to  the  fact  that  the  medium,  usually  left-handed,  be- 
came right-handed  at  one  sitting,  and  Morselli  himself  be- 
came left-handed.  This  confirms  Dr.  Audenino's  hypothesis 
of  transitory  left-handedness  in  the  abnormal  state,  and  the 
transference  to  the  sitters  of  the  anomalies  of  the  medium ; 
and  the  left-handedness  of  Eusapia,  like  that  of  Mme. 
d'Esperance  and  of  IVIiss  Smith,  and  the  reversed  writing 
of  mediums,  seem  to  indicate  the  increased  participation  of 
the  right  lobe  of  the  brain  in  mediumistic  states,  as  occurs 
with  hypnotized  persons,  and  would  explain  the  concomitant 
unconsciousness. 

"As  to  the  feeling  of  intense  repugnance  at  seeing  his 
mother  recalled,  and  against  his  will,  by  Eusapia,  I  confess 
that  I  not  only  do  not  share  it,  but,  on  the  contrary,  when 
I  saw  my  mother  again,  I  felt  one  of  the  most  pleasing  in- 
ward excitements  of  my  life,  a  pleasure  that  was  almost  a 
spasm,  which  aroused  a  sense,  not  of  resentment,  but  of  grati- 
tude to  the  medium  who  threw  my  mother  again  into  my 
arms  after  so  many  years,  and  this  great  event  caused  me  to 


280  Eusapia  Palladino 

forget,  not  once  but  many  times,  the  humble  position  of 
Eusapia,  who  had  done  for  me,  even  were  it  purely  automat- 
ically, that  which  no  giant  in  power  and  thought  could  ever 
have  done. 

"I  respect  Morselli's  feelings,  however,  because  feelings 
are  individual ;  yet  I  ask  him  if  it  has  ever  happened  to  him, 
as  to  me,  to  have  to  sit  alongside  of  persons  who,  if  not  by 
birth,  at  least  by  conduct,  are  much  more  unworthy  than 
Eusapia — and  not  as  an  involuntary  spectator,  but  as  a  col- 
laborator? 

"Where  Morselli  excels,  and  his  book  has  great  merit,  is 
in  the  clinical  study  of  Eusapia,  made  at  two  or  three  dif- 
ferent periods,  but  complete.  He  has  observed,  for  in- 
stance, that  during  trance  Eusapia's  secretions  augment, 
that  the  reflexes  on  both  sides  are  abolished,  that  several 
nerves  are  painful  on  pressure,  etc. ;  left-handedness,  hyper- 
aesthesia  of  the  whole  left  side  of  the  body;  that  she  is 
more  easily  magnetized  than  hypnotized,  so  that  by  me- 
thodical stroking  of  her  head  with  the  hand  one  can  remove 
headaches  and  calm  her  mind,  and  by  magnetic  passes 
from  below  upward  can  cause  a  semicatalepsy,  while  by 
reverse  passes  one  can  relieve  muscular  contractions  and 
paresis. 

"  'Like  the  fakirs,'  he  writes,  'when  they  wish  to  enter 
into  trance,  Eusapia  begins  to  slacken  her  rate  of  breathing, 
passing  from  28  inspirations  to  15  or  12  to  the  minute,  while 
her  heart  beats  from  99  to  120;  then  her  hands  are  seized 
with  little  starts  and  tremors,  the  joints  of  the  feet  and  hands 
are  bent  and  straightened,  and  every  now  and  then  become 
rigid.  The  passage  through  this  state  of  active  somnam- 
bulism is  marked  by  yawns,  sighs,  sweat  on  the  brow,  per- 
spiration of  the  hands,  strange  expressions  of  countenance — 
now  seized  by  a  kind  of  anger  marked  by  imperious  com- 
mands, and  sarcastic  phrases  addressed  to  the  critics — and 
now  by  a  voluptuous  erotic  ecstasy,  succeeded  by  intense 
thirst.' 

"All  this  is  connected  with  hysteria,  just  as  many  of  those 
afflicted  with  gravel  and  asthma  have  similar  symptoms  to 


Eusapia  Palladino  281 

the  gouty  and  rheumatic,  even  though  they  may  not  haVe  pain 
in  their  joints. 

"Verj^  true  also  are  his  observations  that  Eusapia  predicts 
•what  will  happen  at  the  seances,  and,  therefore,  has  a  certain 
consciousness  of  the  phenomena  before  they  occur;  and  that 
almost  all  her  trance  phenomena  are  stereotyped  and  auto- 
matic, like  some  of  the  peculiar  motions  of  epileptics,  which 
may  or  may  not  be  associated  with  absolute  loss  of  conscious- 
ness, but  always  with  an  impotence  of  the  will  to  restrain 
the  actions.  Equally  automatic  are  the  movements  of  the  divin- 
ing-rod, spirit  writing,  musical  and  dramatic  performances 
in  a  state  of  trance,  in  which  there  is  a  disintegration  of  the 
personality,  while  certain  brain  centers  are  still  able  to  act; 
and  so,  too,  according  to  Myers,  are  hallucinations  with  the 
crj'stal ;  and  why  should  we  not  add,  as  he  says,  the  speaking 
in  foreign  tongues,  and  impersonations?  It  is  true  that  we 
do  not  understand  what  is  the  internal  stimulus  from  which 
these  latter  result,  if  we  do  not  wish  to  admit  the  action  of 
spirits,  but  sometimes  they  arise  from  forgotten  impressions 
of  childhood." 

This  completes  our  resume  of  the  theories  that  have  been 
advanced,  to  date,  to  explain  the  remarkable  phenomena  oc- 
curring in  Eusapia's  presence.  Other  theories  will  doubtless 
be  proposed  in  the  future,  and  perhaps  others  have  been  ad- 
vanced in  the  past  of  which  I  am  ignorant.  But  the  above 
summary  will  at  least  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  hypoth- 
eses that  have  become  necessary,  in  order  to  explain  these 
facts — once  they  are  admitted  into  positive  science.  The 
same  objection  may  be  applied  to  each  and  every  one  in  turn. 
They  explain  some  of  the  facts,  but  by  no  means  all  of  them, 
and  any  theory  which  does  not  explain  them  all  cannot  be 
said  to  be  truly  explanatory.  I  shall  again  refer  to  this  in 
the  next  chapter,  in  which  I  shall  advance  a  theory  of  my 
own. 


282  Eusapia  Palladino 

Certain  it  is  that  the  facts  occur;  and  that  having  once 
been  granted,  it  becomes  necessary  to  explain  them,  or  to  at- 
tempt to  explain  them,  by  some  means  or  other,  and  with  the 
least  strain  upon  our  credulity.  Any  theory  which  serves  to 
explain  the  facts  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner  must  depart 
least  from  scientific  standards,  as  held  to-day.  That  is,  in 
order  really  to  explain  a  phenomenon,  we  must  show  its  rela- 
tion to  the  known,  and  attempt  to  connect  it  in  some  way 
with  the  established  facts — with  physical,  physiological,  or 
mental  science.  It  is  useless  to  speculate  at  random  con- 
cerning these  phenomena — though  speculations  of  this  char- 
acter are,  perhaps,  seldom  wasted.  Still,  the  most  scien- 
tific hypothesis  is  probably  that  which  departs  least  from 
what  is  known  of  the  physical  and  mental  world.  I  shall 
endeavor  in  the  next  chapter  to  formulate  a  theory  which 
fulfills  these  requirements — inasmuch  as  I  shall  attempt  to 
bring  these  phenomena  within  the  pale  of  science  by  showing 
their  connection  with  what  we  know  of  physics,  physiology, 
and  psychology. 


s/ 


CHAPTER  VI 

MY  OWN  HYPOTHESIS  TO  ACCOUNT  FOR  THE  FACTS 

The  theory  that  is  now  presented  is  based  upon  the  as- 
sumption that  the  phenomena  are  genuine,  and  are  the  result 
neither  of  fraud  nor  of  hallucination.  Of  course,  personal 
experiments  finally  settled  this,  but  the  incident  which  origi- 
nally forced  me  into  an  attitude  of  belief  was  the  following, 
which  appeared  in  the  Annals  of  Psychical  Science  for  Sep- 
tember, 1907,  under  the  signature  of  Dr.  Joseph  Venzano, 
who  relates  the  incident  at  first  hand  soon  after  it  occurred. 
"The  room,"  we  read,  "was  arranged  as  usual  and  lighted 
when  the  phenomenon  occurred  by  the  candle  in  the  ante- 
room. .  .  .  The  control  of  Mme.  Palladino  was  confined  to 
me,  on  the  right,  and  to  Mme.  Ramorino,  seated  on  the  left. 
.  .  .  The  narrative  of  this  incident  is  taken  from  the  special 
note  which  I  made  myself  on  the  same  evening  after  the 
seance." 

It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  very  little  is  to  be  desired 
in  the  way  of  testimony,  and  the  light  was  fairly  good — 
certainly  enough  to  see  the  outlines  of  the  medium's  figure, 
as  we  shall  presently  see.  Yet,  under  these  conditions,  the 
following  remarkable  incident  took  place  (p.  164) : 

"In  spite  of  the  dimness  of  the  light  I  could  distinctly  see 
Mme.  Palladino  and  my  fellow-sitters.  Suddenly  I  perceived 
that  behind  me  was  a  form,  fairly  tall,  which  was  leaning 
its  head  on  my  left  shoulder  and  sobbing  violently,  so  that 
those  present  could  hear  the  sobs;  it  kissed  me  repeatedly. 

283 


284  Eusapia  Palladino 

I  clearly  perceived  the  outlines  of  this  face,  which  touched 
my  own,  and  I  felt  the  very  fine  and  abundant  hair  in 
contact  with  my  left  cheek,  so  that  I  could  be  quite  sure 
that  it  was  a  woman.  The  table  then  began  to  move,  and 
by  typtology  gave  the  name  of  a  close  family  connection  who 
was  known  to  no  one  present  except  myself.  She  h:;d  died 
sometime  before,  and  on  account  of  incompatibility  of 
temperament  there  had  been  serious  disagreements  with  her. 
I  was  so  far  from  expecting  this  typtological  response  that 
I  at  first  thought  this  was  a  case  of  coincidence  of 
name;  but  while  I  was  mentally  forming  this  reflection  I 
felt  a  mouth,  with  warm  breath,  touch  my  left  ear  and 
whisper,  in  a  low  voice  in  Genoese  dialect,  a  succession  of 
sentences,  the  murmur  of  which  was  audible  to  the  sitters. 
These  sentences  were  broken  by  bursts  of  weeping,  and  their 
gist  was  to  repeatedly  implore  pardon  for  injuries  done  to 
me  with  a  fullness  of  detail  connected  with  family  affairs 
which  could  only  be  known  to  the  person  in  question.  The 
phenomenon  seemed  so  real  that  I  felt  compelled  to  reply 
to  the  excuses  offered  me  with  expressions  of  affection,  and 
to  ask  pardon  in  my  turn  if  any  resentment  of  the  wrongs 
referred  to  had  been  excessive.  But  I  had  scarcely  uttered 
the  first  syllables  when  two  hands,  with  exquisite  delicacy, 
applied  themselves  to  my  lips  and  prevented  my  continuing. 
The  form  then  said  to  me,  'Thank  you,'  embraced  me, 
kissed  me,  and  disappeared." 

These  facts  were  corroborated  by  the  others  present  at 
the  seance.  Hallucination,  therefore,  could  not  explain  the 
facts.  M.  Venzano  distinctly  asserts  that  he  was  perfectly 
calm  throughout  the  seance,  that  he  did  not  cease  to  watch 
the  medium  carefully,  who  "was  quite  awake  and  visible  to 
all,"  and  who  also  "remained  motionless  through  the  whole 
course  of  the  phenomenon."  As  to  the  alternatives — fraud 
and  hallucination — M.  Venzano  writes:  "The  ensemble  of 
my  perceptions  of  contact  as  well  as  audible  ones  (the  latter 


Eusapla  Palladino  285 

shared  by  my  fellow-sitters),  the  typtological  response  in 
complete  accordance  with  the  perceptions  themselves,  and  the 
fact  that,  in  spite  of  the  very  dim  light,  Mme.  Palladino 
was  distinctly  visible  to  me  as  to  all  those  present — as  well 
as  her  complete  ignorance  of  the  family  details  revealed — 
exclude  absolutely  both  these  hypotheses"  (p.  165). 

In  the  face  of  evidence  of  this  kind  it  would  appear  to 
me  simply  absurd  to  press  any  theory  of  fraud.  If  the 
seance  had  been  held  in  complete  darkness,  or  if  the  medium 
had  been  in  a  cabinet  concealed  from  all,  such  a  theory 
might  be  pressed.  But  in  view  of  the  evidence  it  certainly 
cannot.  In  such  a  case  as  this  fraud  appears  to  me  to  be 
absolutely  out  of  the  question,  and  any  attempt  to  explain 
the  facts  by  that  theory  would  be  far  more  inconceivable 
than  an  acceptance  of  the  facts.  In  this  cr.se,  at  any  rate, 
fraud  is  unable  to  explain  the  facts  observed,  and  since  that 
is  the  case  in  this  instance,  it  is  most  probably  inadequate  to 
explain  many  of  the  other  facts  likewise — only  in  these  other 
cases  the  facts,  as  reported,  are  not  strong  enough,  evi- 
dentially, to  establish  that  conclusion.  There  is  always  a 
vast  difference  between  a  truth  and  establishing  a  truth. 

Having  thus  shown  that  fraud  alone  is  unable  to  explain 
the  facts,  we  must  turn  to  other  explanatory  hypotheses. 
Hallucination  may  appeal  to  some  as  a  rational  explanation 
of  at  least  some  of  the  incidents;  but  here  I  would  ask  my 
reader  to  bear  in  mind  what  I  have  said  before  as  to  the 
necessary  inclusivencss  of  any  hypothesis  that  may  be  ad- 
vanced. Hallucination  certainly  cannot  account  for  many 
of  the  graphic  records — it  has  very  rarely  been  actually 
proved  to  exist  in  any  case — why,  therefore,  postulate  it  as 
a  part  of  any  explanatory  hypothesis,  when  we  have  no  evi- 
dence whatever  that  it  is  correct  or  even  justifiable? 


286  Eusapla  Palladino 

I  should  like  to  say  one  or  two  more  words  here  on  this 
question  of  hallucination,  as  it  is  one  on  which  other  critics 
and  myself  tend  to  disagree  in  our  interpretation  of  the 
phenomena.  It  is  a  theory  often  advanced  by  students  as  an 
explanatory  hypothesis  and  finds  great  favor  in  certain  quar- 
ters. I  am  well  aware  of  its  strong  points  and  the  argu- 
ments in  its  favor,  but  I  am  also  aware  of  the  facts  and 
arguments  tending  to  disprove  it.  I  think  it  probable  that 
illusions  very  frequently  take  place  at  spiritualistic  seances. 
One  very  interesting  example  of  this  I  mentioned  in  my 
report  on  "Lily  Dale";  ^  but  that  is  a  different  thing  from 
full-blown  hallucination.  The  former  implies  that  there  is 
some  background  of  reality,  the  outlines  and  details  of  which 
are  filled  in  by  the  mind  of  the  seer;  the  former  supposes 
that  there  is  no  such  reality  of  background  at  all.  There 
is  a  vast  difference  between  these  two.  I  have  frequently 
seen  the  former  psychological  process  at  work  at  fraudulent 
seances ;  but  I  can  truthfully  say  that  in  the  ten  years  during 
which  time  I  have  been  a  constant  attendant  at  seances  (all 
of  which  time  I  was  on  the  alert  for  anything  of  the  kind), 
I  have  never  seen  any  traces  of  genuine  hallucination  in  any 
single  case.  I  am  disposed  to  disbelieve  in  this  hypothesis 
most  strongly.  I  have  never  seen  a  trace  of  it  at  work. 
Where  others  saw  hallucination  I  saw  simply  fraud.  In 
most  cases,  what  passes  for  hallucination  is  nothing  more 
than  clever  trickery — trickery  of  a  kind  I  have  frequently 
been  able  to  detect.  I  have  always  been  inclined  to  place 
the  physical  phenomena  either  in  the  realm  of  fraud  or  that 
of  reality,  and  I  greatly  doubt  if  hallucination  plays  any 
part  in  any  of  these  phenomena.  In  this,  however,  I  am 
in  disagreement  with  other  writers.  Each  one  must  choose 
^Proceedings  of  the  American  S.  P.  R.,  Vol.  II,  Part  I,  p.  29. 


Eusapia  Palladino  287 

the  hypothesis  that  most  appeals  to  him;  I  merely  give  my 
opinion  in  such  a  case — stating  it  for  what  it  is  worth. 

The  same  objections,  it  seems  to  me,  that  have  been 
advanced  against  fraud  and  hallucination  (as  explanations) 
may  successfully  be  urged  against  every  one  of  the  theories 
that  has  been  advanced  to  date.  Fluidic  prolongations, 
etheric  doubles,  unknown  neuric  forces,  etc.,  explain  many 
of  the  phenomena,  but  by  no  means  all  of  them.  What 
is  the  use  of  a  theory  that  explains  a  certain  percentage 
of  the  phenomena,  merely,  and  leaves  unexplained  a  large 
number  of  facts — and  the  most  interesting  facts  at  that? 
None  of  these  theories  would  explain  the  impressions 
obtained  on  wet  clay  and  putty;  of  faces  and  hands  other 
than  those  of  the  medium;  none  of  them  explain  the 
materializations  of  forms,  of  heads  and  faces,  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  Eusapia;  none  of  them  really  explain 
the  intelligent  force  that  frequently  moves  objects,  plays 
musical  instruments,  etc. — which  Eusapia  could  not  have 
moved  or  played.  To  postulate  an  "unknown  force"  leaves 
us  where  we  were  in  the  first  place,  and  explains  nothing 
in  the  second.  Can  "unknown  forces"  make  impressions  of 
hands  and  faces  in  putty?  Do  they  possess  an  intelligence 
equal  to  or  even  greater  than  that  of  the  medium  who 
liberates  them?  The  mere  statement  of  the  theory  carries 
with  it  its  own  refutation ;  it  is  inherently  absurd.  So  far 
as  we  know  anything  about  "forces"  in  this  universe,  they 
can  do  none  of  these  things. 

Nor  can  the  theory  of  an  "astral  double  of  the  medium" 
explain  the  facts.  It  might  explain  some  of  them,  but  cer- 
tainly not  all,  or  even  the  great  majority  of  them.  One  can 
conceive  that  such  an  entity  could  make  impressions  of  the 
medium's  face  in  the  putty  (duplicating  hers),  but  how  about 


288  Eusapia  Palladino 

impressions  of  altogether  alien  and  foreign  faces?  Unless 
we  revert  to  the  meditcval  conception  of  lycanthropy  (change 
of  form  at  will)  we  are  unable  to  explain  these  facts  on 
any  such  theory.  And  the  same  objections  may  be  raised, 
it  seems  to  me,  against  the  theory  of  "prolongations,"  and 
all  the  other  theories  that  have  been  advanced  to  explain 
these  phenomena. 

It  would  appear  to  me  that  the  most  satisfactory  hypoth- 
esis (and  indeed  the  only  one  that  satisfactorily  covers  and 
explains  all  the  facts  in  the  case)  is  the  spiritistic.  I  know 
that  there  is  a  universal  dislike  for  this  theory;  that  it  is 
a  tremendous  assumption  in  the  first  place ;  unable  to  account 
for  many  of  the  facts  in  the  second ;  and  crude,  as  generally 
held,  in  the  third;  but  it  is  the  most  logical  and  consistent 
one,  in  the  long  run,  I  am  convinced.  I  shall  endeavor  to 
place  this  hypothesis  upon  what  may  be  at  least  a  conceivable 
basis,  after  first  answering  one  or  two  objections  that  can  be 
raised  to  it — legitimate  objections,  such  as  those  I  have  ad- 
vanced above.  I  shall  pass  over  that  of  crudity,  as  I  hope  to 
remove  it  before  the  argument  is  finished. 

First,  then,  as  to  the  "assumption"  that  is  made  in  formu- 
lating this  h5'pothesis.  It  may  be  contended  that  it  is  a 
mere  begging  of  the  question — thus  to  defend  a  theory 
which  it  is,  in  a  sense,  our  object  to  prove!  All  the  data 
of  materialism  may  be  urged  against  this  assumption — it 
being  contended  that  "spirits"  having  been  eliminated  from 
the  universe,  they  cannot  be  present  tipping  Mme.  Pal- 
ladino's  tables  or  anyone  else's.  The  hypothesis,  it  may 
be  claimed,  evades  the  issue  and  reverts  at  one  swoop  to 
mediaeval  superstition.  That  would  be  the  position  of  many 
critics. 

In  reply,  I  would  remind  the  skeptic  that  we  must_  at  all 


Eusapia  Palladino  289 

events  have  some  theory  to  explain  the  facts.  And  we  must 
have  one  that  explains  all  the  facts.  Now,  broadly  speaking, 
the  spiritistic  hypothesis  does  this,  and  is  the  only  one  that 
does.  By  it  we  can  explain  the  movements  of  objects,  the 
playing  upon  musical  instruments,  the  appearance  of  human 
heads  and  faces,  the  materialization  of  forms,  the  presence 
of  an  external  intelligence,  etc. — all  of  which  facts  are  most 
difficult  and  many  of  them  impossible  to  explain  upon  any 
other  theory.  I  think  it  will  be  granted  that,  apart  from 
the  inherent  difficulty  of  accepting  this  theory  (and  certain 
minor  objections  that  might  be  cleared  away  and  removed 
by  further  experimenting),  it  most  satisfactorily  explains  all 
the  facts  in  the  case  and  includes  them  all  in  one  general 
hypothesis.  Certainly  this  is  to  be  desired.  And  if  this  be 
granted  (as  I  think  it  must  be),  then  the  only  reason  for 
rejecting  the  theory  is  its  "inherent"  improbability — the  im- 
probability of  there  being  any  such  thing  as  "spirit"  in  the 
universe  at  all — in  short,  the  general  objection  founded  on 
materialism.  I  at  least  can  see  no  valid  objection  on  any 
other  ground  (apart  from  the  minor  difficulties  mentioned 
above,  which  are  really  difficulties  zcithin  the  problem,  not 
objections  to  it),  and  I  shall  accordingly  turn  to  a  con- 
sideration of  this  objection. 

The  position  of  materialism  is  well  known.  Matter  and 
force  occupy  all  the  universe ;  and  besides  them  there  is  no 
substantial  reality.  Consciousness  is  merely  a  by-product — 
a  result  of  brain  activity,  which  perishes  at  the  moment  of 
death.  Vitality  is  the  result  of  chemical  combustion ;  it  is 
all  very  simple!  Such  a  thing  as  "spirit"  would  be  quite 
impossible  if  materialism  were  true. 

Now,  if  we  were  to  Undertake  to  dispute  this  hypothesis, 
we  should  have  to  take  into  account   the  whole   range  of 


290  Eusapla  Palladino 

philosophy,  metaphysics,  and  science — a  task  certainly  be- 
yond my  powers.  Here  it  need  only  be  said  that  this  theory 
is  being  so  far  undermined  by  the  newer  discoveries  that  it 
is  beginning  to  be  given  up,  even  by  its  former  champions 
in  orthodox  science.  Matter  and  force  are  no  longer  found 
to  be  indestructible;  consciousness  certainly  cannot  be 
dovetailed  into  any  materialistic  scheme.  Many  scientific 
writers  are  now  defending  the  idea  that  life  is  something 
quite  apart  from  the  matter,  which  forms  its  incasement,  and 
certain  of  us  contend  that  vitality  is  not  such  a  simple  thing 
as  has  been  previously  believed.  However,  letting  all  this 
go  for  the  moment,  I  am  content  to  let  my  opponent  hold 
whatever  views  of  the  universe  he  pleases;  he  may  be  a 
believer  in  Haeckel's  monism  if  he  likes;  the  only  thing  I 
demand  (and  upon  that  I  insist)  is  that  he  explains  on 
this  theory  all  the  facts.  If  he  can  do  this  he  can  hold 
to  his  theory;  if  he  cannot,  then  he  must  adopt  another 
theory  or  modify  his  sufficiently  to  explain  and  cover  the 
facts.  That  is  the  ultimate  test  and  the  only  real  one. 
Any  theory  advanced  must  explain  all  the  observed  phe- 
nomena. 

Now,  it  is  quite  certain,  it  seems  to  me,  that  any  material- 
istic theory  cannot  explain  many  of  the  facts  of  psychic  re- 
search. Let  us  omit  telepathy  as  possibly  explicable  on  the 
materialistic  scheme.  Clairvoyance,  premonitions,  appari- 
tions of  the  dead,  haunted  houses,  to  say  nothing  of  the  case 
of  Mrs.  Piper — none  of  these  facts  are  really  explicable  on 
any  materialistic  theory.  The  method  in  the  past,  there- 
fore, has  been  to  ignore  them.  But  this  cannot  be  done 
much  longer !  So  much  evidence  is  constantly  pouring  in — 
evidence  so  well  attested,  of  such  an  extraordinary  nature — 
that  it  will  not  be  many  years  before  at  least  some  of  these 


Eusapia  Palladino  291 

phenomena  are  accepted  by  orthodox  science.  And  then 
what  will  become  of  materialism? 

Enough  has  been  said,  at  any  rate,  to  show  us  that 
materialism  no  longer  has  the  same  firm  foothold  as  it  had 
some  years  ago.  Then  no  one  thought  of  questioning  it  if 
he  wished  to  be  thought  "scientific";  now  everyone  does! 
The  Piper  case,  and  others  of  a  similar  nature,  and  the 
whole  mass  of  psychical  phenomena,  seem  to  indicate  that 
there  are,  operative  in  nature,  forces  and  intelligences  be- 
j  yond  those  known  to  or  recognized  by  orthodox  science. 
And  however  far  we  may  stretch  explanatory  hypotheses, 
we  are  at  all  events  in  the  realm  of  the  "supernormal,"  and 
hence  beyond  materialism.  Spiritism  is  the  only  rational 
explanation  for  certain  cases,  and  it  synthesizes  the  whole 
of  psychical  research  in  a  way  that  no  other  hypothesis  can. 
Once  accepted,  it  explains  all  the  phenomena  in  a  very 
simple  and  satisfactory  manner. 

When  we  come  to  view  the  facts  in  the  Palladino  case, 
then,  we  find  that  they  form  or  are  divisible  into  two  general 
groups.  Broadly,  they  may  be  divided  as  follows :  ( i ) 
Those  phenomena  in  which  there  is  some  mechanical  move- 
ment, devoid  of  external  intelligence;  and  (2)  those  phe- 
nomena in  which  there  is  (apparently  at  least)  an  external 
intelligence.  In  the  first  of  these  two  groups  I  should  place 
movements  of  objects  without  contact,  levitations,  raps  not 
showing  intelligence,  musical  sounds  ditto,  the  blowing  out 
of  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet,  etc.  In  the  second  class  I 
should  have  to  place  raps  and  musical  sounds  showing  in- 
telligence, impressions  in  putty  of  hands,  faces,  etc.,  mate- 
rializations, conversations,  intelligent  handling  of  the  record- 
ing apparatus,  and  all  kindred  phenomena.  Now,  I  must 
insist  that,  while  the  theories  that  have  been  advanced  to 


292  Eusapia  Palladino 

date  (and  which  were  reviewed  in  the  last  chapter)  might 
explain  the  phenomena  included  in  the  first  of  these  two 
categories,  they  certainly  cannot  explain  the  second  set  of 
facts.  Intelligence  cannot  be  displayed  by  a  thing  that  has 
none,  and  "forces"  and  even  "fluidic  elongations"  have  none! 
We  must  postulate  something  at  work,  therefore,  that  has 
intelligence,  and,  since  this  is  not  the  medium,  what  can  it 
be  but  some  external  intelligence — some  entity  with  a  mind 
and  thoughts  of  its  own?  And  what  can  that  be  but  a 
spirit?  To  me  any  attempt  to  evade  this  main  issue  is 
merely  quibbling. 

Whether  we  can  conceive  any  such  thing  as  a  spirit  or 
not  is  beside  the  case;  the  question  is.  Do  the  facts  prove  itf 
To  me  they  certainly  do  prove  it  in  at  least  some  of  the 
cases — an  example  of  which  I  gave  earlier  in  this  discussion. 
Any  attempt  to  explain  such  a  case  as  that  by  any  theory  of 
"forces"  or  in  any  other  way  than  to  admit  the  presence  of 
the  spiritual  intelligence  who  purported  to  be  present  is,  to 
me,  absurd.  I  should  much  rather  prefer  to  hold  that  Dr. 
Venzano  falsified  the  facts,  or  that  the  whole  seance  was 
due  to  fraud,  than  advance  any  theory  other  than  the  spirit- 
istic, in  a  case  of  this  character.  A.ny  other  theory  would 
be  a  straining  at  a  gnat  and  swallowing  a  camel,  indeed! 

Having  defined  my  position,  then,  in  broad  outline,  I 
must  now  proceed  to  fill  in  the  details.  I  shall  be  told  that 
this  is  no  new  theory,  but  that  it  has  always  been  held  by 
a  large  number  of  observers  and  defended  by  them.  Further, 
there  are  many  difficulties  within  the  problem ;  and  again, 
there  are  numerous  facts  which  seem  to  indicate  that  some 
force,  under  the  control  of  the  medium's  oivn  brain  and 
mind,  is  in  operation  and  not  that  of  any  spirit.  (This 
would   seem   to   negate   this  hypothesis,    therefore.)      I    am 


Eusapia  Palladino  293 

aware  of  all  these  objections,  and  shall  endeavor  to  answer 
them  as  we  proceed. 

I  must  begin  by  making  certain  assumptions — assumptions 
which  should  find  no  difficulty  in  being  accepted  in  the  main, 
and  which  at  all  events  cannot  be  argued  here.  These  are: 
( I )  That  consciousness  persists  after  the  dissolution  of  the 
organism;  (2)  that  this  consciousness  maintains  its  personal 
identity — including,  of  course,  memory;  (3)  that  this  con- 
sciousness ("soul")  is  or  inhabits  a  body  of  the  same  shape 
as  our  physical  body — at  least  at  first;  (4)  that  it  is  con- 
stantly about  us — in  our  surroundings — capable  of  exercising 
certain  functions  to  us  deemed  supernormal,  such  as  telep- 
athy, clairvo5'ance,  etc. ;  ( 5 )  that  it  is  normally  invisible  to  us, 
but  may  become  visible  under  certain  conditions,  as  3'et  un- 
known, to  one  or  more  individuals,  and  can  then  more  or 
less  directly  communicate  with  them;  (6)  that  such  an 
intelligence  can  only  act  on  the  material  world  through 
so?ne  intermediary  and  not  directly — either  upon  a  nervous 
mechanism  (probably  indirectly)  or  upon  inert  matter 
(almost  certainly  indirectly)  through  some  semifluidic  in- 
termediary. Only  by  means  of  this  etheric  or  vital  inter- 
mediary Is  mind  enabled  to  act  upon  matter  and  the  material 
world. 

None  of  this  is  new — except,  perhaps,  the  last  proposition. 
If  such  a  thing  as  "spirit"  exists  at  all,  I  think  there  should 
be  but  little  difficulty  in  granting  the  first  five  of  these 
assumptions.  The  sixth  is  the  one  that  I  now  wish  to 
elaborate  and  defend  at  some  length. 

First  of  all,  let  us  go  back  to  the  world-old  problem  of 
the  connection  of  mind  and  body.  There  are  certain  aspects 
of  this  question  that  seem  to  have  been  overlooked  even  by 
those  psychologists  and  philosophers  who  have  written  about 


294  Eusapia  Palladino 

it  at  length,  and  as  this  question  has  a  more  or  less  direct 
bearing  on  the  problem  before  us,  as  we  shall  presently  see, 
it  may  be  well  to  point  these  out  in  this  place. 

The  ordinary  materialistic  conception  is,  of  course,  the 
"production"  theory.  Mind  is  thought  to  be  the  direct 
consequence  of  the  brain's  functioning,  and  is  the  result  of 
it.  But  if  this  narrow  conception  be  given  up,  as  it  now  is, 
by  a  large  number  of  even  "orthodox"  psychologists,  and  as 
it  certainly  must  be  if  even  one  supernormal  fact  ever  be 
proven,  then  it  becomes  necessary  to  postulate  some  other 
connection,  and  both  parallelism  and  interactionism  prac- 
tically admit  the  existence  of  consciousness  apart  from  brain 
structure.  The  refusal  to  consider  the  matter  in  this  light 
is  a  mere  piece  of  dogmatism;  and  anyone  has  just  as  good 
a  right  to  affirm  that  mind  does  exist  apart  from  brain 
activity  as  another  man  has  to  assert  that  it  does  not.  The 
skeptic's  only  ground  of  vantage  is  the  fact  that  conscious- 
ness has  never  been  proved  to  exist,  independent  of  such 
activity,  which  would  seem  to  indicate,  at  least  upon  a  super- 
ficial view  of  the  facts,  that  it  was  the  result  of  it.  But  if 
we  do  have  evidence  of  its  independent  existence — in  such 
phenomena  as  those  of  Mrs.  Piper,  for  example — then  it  is 
at  once  and  forever  proved  that  consciousness  does  and  can 
exist  apart  from  brain  structure,  and  that  it  merely  uses  that 
organ  or  instrument  to  function  through — while  here  in  the 
body.  That  is,  consciousness  exists  as  a  separate  entity,  but 
only  becomes  manifest  and  objective  to  us  here  in  the  body 
while  utilizing  some  material  brain.  On  this  theory  the 
possible  separate  existence  of  consciousness  is  admitted,  and 
only  the  nature  of  its  connection  with  the  organism  is  the 
mystery. 

Now,   if  mind  exists  apart  from   the  brain  and  merely 


Eusapia  Palladino  295 

utilizes  it  to  manifest  through,  it  is  acting  upon  it  by  a 
species  of  telekinesis  all  the  time!  Every  mental  state  and 
change — accompanied,  as  it  doubtless  is,  by  molecular  action, 
chemical  changes,  etc. — is  the  result  of  a  telekinetic  action! 
There  should  be  no  very  great  difficulty  in  imagining  con- 
sciousness capable  of  affecting  the  outside  material  world, 
therefore.  Further,  for  all  we  know,  the  mind  may  be  a 
thousand  miles  away  from  the  brain  it  is  acting  upon  and 
merely  be  in  rapport  with  it  by  means  of  some  sort  of  mag- 
netic attraction!  If  anyone  asked  me  if  I  believed  such  a 
theory  I  should  say,  "No,  I  do  not";  but  at  the  same  time 
there  is  really  nothing  against  it.  Once  grant  the  possible 
existence  of  consciousness  apart  from  brain  activity,  and  we 
can  conceive  this  quite  easily. 

It  may  be  objected  to  the  above  that,  whereas  mind  can 
conceivably  act  on  organic  matter,  and  particularly  nervous 
tissue,  it  cannot,  so  far  as  we  know,  act  upon  the  inorganic 
world  in  a  similar  manner.  That  is  probably  very  true; 
there  is  some  sort  of  vital  connection  in  the  one  case  which 
there  is  not  in  the  other,  and  upon  that  fact  hinges  the 
ability  of  the  mind  to  influence  organic  and  not  inorganic 
matter.  It  is  more  than  probable,  it  seems  to  me,  that  there 
exists  some  sort  of  etheric  medium  between  mind  and  even 
organic  nervous  tissue,  upon  which  the  mind  must  act  first 
of  all.  Thus  we  should  have  the  chain  of  connection :  mind, 
vital  or  etheric  medium,  nervous  tissue,  muscle,  bone.  So 
mind  acts  upon  matter,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  an 
increasing  density  of  structure,  and  that  just  in  proportion 
to  this  density  is  mind  incapable  of  affecting  matter  directly. 
We  must,  it  seems  to  me,  always  postulate  some  sort  of 
etheric  medium  through  which  mind  acts  in  order  to  affect 
and  move  matter — organic  or  inorganic.     And  without  this 


296  Eusapia  Palladino 

vital  intermediary  there  can  be  no  action  and  consequentl}' 
no   manifestation. 

Now,  on  the  ordinary  materiah'stic  view,  human  vitality  is 
conceived  to  be  a  mere  product  of  chemical  combustion. 
The  potential  energy  of  the  food  we  eat  is,  according  to 
modern  science,  transformed  into  actual  or  kinetic  energy 
in  the  body — when  food  is  oxidized  within  it.  In  this  way 
is  the  energy  of  the  body  maintained,  and  vitality  is  thus 
conceived  to  be  one  of  the  forces  of  nature  and  transformable 
and  transmutable  into  them.  Heat,  light,  chemical  affinity, 
electricity,  vitality,  etc.,  are  all  conceived  to  be  forces  on  the 
same  plane,  and  all  transmutable  one  into  the  other.  And 
one  is  no  more  mysterious  than  the  other — vitality  no  more 
so  than  chemical  affinity! 

Now,  in  my  book  Vitality,  Fasting,  and  Nutrition,  I 
argued  this  point  at  great  length,  and  brought  forward 
many  facts  and  arguments  in  an  attempt  to  show  that  vitality 
is  not  a  simple  material  force  like  the  others — but  is  some- 
thing distinct,  separate,  per  se — and  unlike  any  other  force 
whatever.  I  cannot  repeat  in  this  place  any  of  the  arguments 
there  brought  forward  in  defense  of  this  view,  but  shall  as- 
sume its  correctness  for  the  sake  of  argument,  as  it  will 
enable  us  to  understand  these  facts  much  more  fully  than  will 
any  other  hypothesis.^  I  shall  proceed  upon  the  theory  that 
vitality  is  a  living  force,  non-material,  that  guides  the  body 
during  its  life  here  on  earth.  It  forms  the  connecting  link 
between  mind  and  matter,  and  is,  quite  possibly,  the  vehicle 

'Although  my  theory  has  been  before  the  world  for  almost  two  years,  no 
one  has  come  forward  to  challenge  the  correctness  of  it.  Almost  every 
reviewer,  without  exception,  has  stated  his  disbelief  in  the  theory,  but  has  failed 
to  advance  a  single  fact  tending  to  disprove  it;  no  one  has  undertaken  to  refute 
it  in  detail.  Both  Dr.  Rabagliati  and  myself  expected  the  idea  to  meet  with 
ridicule  and  rejection,  at  first,  as  all  new  ideas  do;  but  the  absence  of  contrary 
facts  is  most  extraordinary.     I  shall  not  do  more  than  refer  to  it  here. 


Eusapia  Palladino  297 

of    the   soul — the   ethcric    double,    the   astral    body    of    the 
theosophists.^ 

Now,  if  we  grant  tliat  tliis  vitalitj^  is  a  separate  force, 
capable  of  controlling  the  nervous  mechanism  under  certain 
conditions,  and  acting  as  an  intermediary  between  it  and 
mind,  it  is  evident  that  this  vital  force  is  more  detachable 
from  the  organism — more  a  thing,  an  entity — than  we  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  supposing.  It  might  be  transferable, 
under  certain  conditions,  from  one  organism  to  anoth.er, 
and  this  would  account  for  mesmeric  phenomena  and  some 
so-called  miraculous  cures.  This  same  vitality,  again,  issuing 
from  the  scar  in  the  medium's  forehead,  would  account  for 
the  "cold  air"  so  often  felt  by  experimenters  at  the  Palladino 
seances  (p.  205).  This  postulated  vital  energy  would 
explain  a  number  of  other  facts,  and  is  probably  closely 
allied  to  Gasparin's  "fluid,"  to  Thury's  "psychode,"  and  to 
Sir   William   Crookes'   "psychic  force."     None  of   the   in- 


'In  the  Journal  of  the  S.  P.  R.,  February,  1908,  pp.  180-6,  is  to  be  found 
a  summary  of  Sir  Oliver  Lodge's  "scheme  of  personality" — a  remarkably  in- 
genious theory,  which  should  be  published  in  full  and  certainly  at  as  early  a 
date  as  possible.  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  represents  the  total  self  by  two  semicircles, 
"abutting  against  one  another,  after  the  manner  of  a  placenta."  The  upper 
is  the  mental,  the  lower  the  physical,  side  of  man.  "Life"  unites  these  two 
pieces  by  means  of  the  brain  (p.  180).  Nevertheless,  Dr.  Lodge  evidently 
thinks  that  "the  brain"  is  not  the  only  factor  involved  in  this  necessary  con- 
nection, for  on  page  183  he  says:  ''^Vitality  unites  the  two  halves  and  pierces 
the  boundary.  .  .  ."  This  is  a  clear  statement  of  a  belief  that  vitality  is  that 
which  unites  mind  and  matter — as  I  have  been  contending  all  along.  But  if 
vitality  were  nothing  more  mysterious  than  chemical  affinity,  e.g.,  and  no  nearer 
the  fountain  of  life,  why  should  not  that  form  the  connecting  link — just  as  well 
as  vitality?  Why  should  not  heat,  or  light,  or  any  other  force,  for  that  matter? 
In  the  sentence  quoted  above  there  is  at  least  a  tacit  assumption  that  vitality  is 
something  more  than  mere  mechanical  force;  and  further,  that  it  unites  mind 
and  matter!  I  think  this  is  a  position  that  will  one  day  come  to  be  generally 
accepted;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  this  really  places  vitality  outside  the  law  of 
conservation  (as  I  have  so  strongly  contended  it  should  be  placed),  and  acknowl- 
edges that  it  is  a  force  with  quite  individual  peculiarities  of  its  own — a  force 
"absolutely  per  ie." 


298  Eusapia  Palladino 

vestlgators,  however,  applied  his  theory  to  the  most  remark- 
able of  all  the  phenomena — those  implying  an  external 
intelligence  (materializations,  e.g.) — and  apparently  it  could 
not  be  stretched  so  as  to  cover  them.  The  theory  I  am 
about  to  advance,  while  closely  akin  to  some  of  these  hypoth- 
eses, also  differs  from  them  in  some  important  particulars, 
and  is  capable  of  explaining  all  the  facts  in  a  satisfactory 
manner.  I  shall  now  endeavor  to  state  this  view  as  briefly 
as  possible. 

The  nervous  or  vital  energy,  for  whose  existence  I  have 
been  so  strenuously  arguing,  is  normally  limited  to  the 
periphery  of  the  body,  and  never  extends  beyond  it.  But 
under  certain  conditions,  of  which  we  know  nothing  at 
present,  it  is  possible  for  this  force  to  extend  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  body,  and  produce  certain  material  movements 
and  displacements  of  objects  in  the  external  world.  This 
force  would  be,  supposedly,  at  such  times  under  the  sub- 
conscious control  of  the  medium,  and  might  even  pass 
slightly  under  the  control  of  her  voluntary  mind,  and  be 
directed  by  her — just  as  the  muscles  of  respiration  are  usually 
under  the  control  of  the  subconscious  mind,  but  we  can 
also  bring  them  under  the  control  of  the  conscious  mind  at 
will.  The  sphincter  muscles  would  be  a  still  better  example 
of  this — muscles  over  which  we  have  normally  even  less 
control,  but  which  we  yet  can  control,  at  least  in  part,  by 
an  effort  of  will.  So,  then,  this  force,  being  more  or  less 
directly  controlled  by  the  mind  of  the  medium  (conscious 
and  subconscious)  and  acting  beyond  the  periphery  of  the 
body,  would  be  enabled  to  produce  all  the  effects  0/  class  one 
of  the  phenomena  previously  enumerated.  The  vital  en- 
ergy would  form  the  intermediary  or  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  mind  of  the  medium  and  the  production  of  the 


Eusapia  Palladino  299 

movement — and  would  cause  the  phenomenon  in  that  man- 
ner. All  of  the  phenomena  apparently  devoid  of  intel- 
ligence, or  those  under  the  control  of  the  medium,  could  be 
explained  by  this  hypothesis,  which  indeed  presents  nothing 
distinctly  new  so  far.  It  is  closely  akin  to  several  others 
that  have  been  advanced. 

But  now  we  come  to  the  second  group  of  facts — those 
produced  and  controlled,  apparently,  by  some  external  in- 
telligence. How  are  these  usually  accounted  for?  Usually, 
it  must  be  admitted,  they  are  not  accounted  for  at  all — or 
so  incompletely  as  to  leave  the  mind  totally  unsatisfied  with 
the  explanations.  I  have  pointed  out  the  defects  of  these 
theories  before  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  arguments 
here.  They  simply  do  not  explain.  They  explain  the  facts 
of  group  one,  but  not  those  of  group  two.  If  any  of  these 
phenomena  are  such  in  reality  (and  it  seems  very  clear  to 
me  that  they  are),  the  spiritistic  hypothesis  is  the  only  ra- 
tional one  to  account  for  the  facts;  is  the  only  one  worthy 
of  serious  consideration.  When  hands,  faces,  and  forms 
appear,  when  conversations  are  carried  on  with  these  forms, 
in  a  language  unknown  to  the  medium,  about  matters  private 
and  unknown  to  her,  it  seems  preposterous  to  attempt  to 
explain  these  facts  in  any  other  way  than  to  admit  that  a 
spiritual  entity  is  present  and  active  there.  The  spiritistic 
hypothesis  is  the  only  one  that  in  any  way  explains  the  facts, 
and  I  shall  accordingly  adopt  it,  until  some  better  explana- 
tion be  forthcoming. 

Granting,  then,  that  a  spiritual  Intelligence  Is  active,  how 
are  we  to  conceive  that  It  produces  these  effects?  "Spirit" 
being  supposedly  pure  m.ind,  or  closely  related  to  it,  it  can- 
not act  wpon  the  material  world  directly,  or  effect  changes 
in  it.     In  order  for  this  to  take  place  there  must  be  some 


300  Eusapia  Palladino 

intermediary,  as  I  have  before  insisted  upon ;  but  I  now 
think  we  are  in  a  position  to  see  in  what  this  intermediary 
consists.  //  is  the  nervous,  vital  force  of  the  medium,  ex- 
ternalized by  her  beyond  her  body  and  utilized  by  the  mani- 
festing spirit  for  the  purposes  of  its  manifestation.  This 
same  vital  energy,  which  is  controlled  by  the  medium's  own 
mentality,  when  producing  the  phenomena  of  class  one,  is 
utilized  by  the  manifesting  intelligence  in  very  much  the 
same  manner  (when  the  medium  is  in  trance)  in  producing 
the  manifestations  and  phenomena  of  class  tivo.  We  might 
conceive  that  this  vital  energy  is  utilized  by  the  manifesting 
intelligence,  who  imbibes  and  clothes  himself  with  it,  as  it 
were — creating  a  sort  of  temporary  fluidic  body  through 
which  it  can  manifest — can  come  in  contact  with  the 
material  world,  move  material  objects,  be  seen,  felt,  and 
even  photographed.  Normally,  such  an  intelligence  would  be 
separated  from  our  world  by  the  veil  of  sense ;  but  now  a 
link  is  supplied  enabling  the  phantom  to  become  more  "ma- 
terial" in  a  way,  for  the  time  being — sufficiently  so,  at  least, 
to  cause  the  various  manifestations  we  have  recorded,  and  to 
produce  the  materializations  so  frequently  attested  to  in 
Eusapia's  seances.'  The  vitality  would  act  as  a  sort  of  sheath 
or  cloak,  a  semi-material  substance  through  and  by  means 
of  which  a  spirit  can  manifest  to  us  here,  and  initiate  the 
varied  phenomena  witnessed  at  Eusapia's  seances. 

Thus  and  thus  only,  it  seems  to  me,  can  these  phenomena 
be  explained.  By  postulating  this  intermediary,  this  vital 
connection  between  the  material  and  the  spiritual  worlds, 
can  we  explain  all  the  facts  at  these  seances,  and  in  no  other 
way.  Normally,  of  course,  this  vitality  would  not  be 
liberated  in  this  manner;  it  would  remain  shut  up  within 
the  medium's  organism,   it  would  not  be  "at  large,"   and 


Eusapia  Palladino  301 

hence  could  not  be  "pounced  upon"  and  utilized  by  anj' 
foreij^n  intelligence  in  order  to  produce  physical  effects  of 
this  kind.  But  occasionally  there  are  cases,  seemingly,  where 
this  externalization  takes  place  spontaneously,  and  without 
the  knowledge,  and  even  against  the  will,  of  the  "medium." 
When  this  occurs,  we  have  the  "electric  girls"  and  the 
sporadic  poltergeist  cases — which  still  remain  in  spite  of 
all  the  attempts  to  explain  them  away!  By  postulating 
this  vital  energy  (for  whose  existence  I  have  so  frequently 
contended,  both  on  the  grounds  of  accepted  physiology  and 
because  of  these  phenomena),  we  can  explain  the  facts,  and, 
it  seems  to  me,  in  no  other  way  can  we  explain  them.  When 
the  phenomena  of  ps3'chical  research  come  to  be  generally 
accepted,  we  shall  have  to  recast  many  of  our  conceptions 
and  beliefs;  and  one  of  the  first  of  these  will  be  our  idea 
of  vitality  and  the  life  force.  Much  hinges  on  this  for 
ps3chic  research,  and,  if  its  advocates  could  but  see  it,  the 
battle  might  be  practically  won  on  this  issue  alone.  How- 
ever, that  is  beside  the  question  for  our  present  purposes. 
I  have  advanced  my  hjpothesis — the  most  rational,  to  my 
mind,  for  accounting  for  these  facts;  and  I  leave  it  to  its 
fate — together  with  all  the  other  speculations  and  hypotheses 
that  have  been  advanced  from  time  to  time  in  the  past! 


CHAPTER  VII 

BIOLOGICAL  AND   PSYCHOLOGICAL   CONSIDERATIONS 

Professor  Flournoy,  In  his  most  interesting  and  scholarly- 
book,  From  India  to  the  Planet  Mars,  makes  the  following 
remarks  regarding  the  study  of  the  supernormal: 

"It  goes  without  saying  that  in  treating  of  the  super- 
normal we  must  admit  theoretically  its  possibility,  or — which 
amounts  to  about  the  same  thing — fail  to  believe  In  the  in- 
fallibility and  perfection  of  present-day  science.  If  I  con- 
sider it  a  priori  absolutely  impossible  for  an  individual  to 
know  sometime  before  the  arrival  of  a  telegram  containing 
the  news  of  an  accident  by  which  his  brother  at  the  An- 
tipodes has  been  killed,  or  that  another  can  voluntarily  move 
an  object  at  a  distance  without  having  a  string  attached  to 
it,  and  contrary  to  the  laws  of  mechanics  and  physiology,  It 
is  clear  that  I  will  shrug  my  shoulders  at  every  mention  of 
telepathy,  and  I  shall  not  move  a  step  to  be  present  at  a 
seance  with  Eusapia  Palladino.  What  an  excellent  means 
of  enlarging  one's  horizon,  and  of  discovering  something 
new  by  being  satisfied  with  one's  ready-made  science  and 
preconceived  opinion — quite  convinced  beforehand  that  the 
Universe  ends  at  the  wall  opposite,  that  there  Is  nothing  to 
be  obtained  beyond  that  which  daily  routine  has  accustomed 
us  to  look  upon  as  the  limit  of  the  Real !  This  philosophy 
of  the  ostrich,  illustrated  formerly  by  those  grotesque  monu- 
ments of  erudition — over  whom  Galileo  did  not  know 
whether  to  laugh  or  weep — who  refused  to  put  their  eyes  to 
the  glass  for  fear  of  seeing  something  which  had  no  official 
right  to  existence,  and  again,  that  of  many  brains  petrified 
by  the  unseasonable  works  of  scientific  vulgarization  and  the 

302 


Eusapla  Palladino  303 

unintelligent  frequenting  of  universities — these  are  the  two 
great  intellectual  dangers  of  our  time." 

Professor  Flournoy  bases  his  argument  on  two  general 
propositions,  which  he  terms,  respectively,  the  Principle  of 
Hamlet  and  the  Principle  of  Laplace.  The  first  is,  "All  is 
possible" ;  the  second  is,  "The  weight  of  the  evidence  should 
be  proportioned  to  the  strangeness  of  the  facts." 

True  to  these  principles — which  appear  to  me  to  be  quite 
sound — let  us  examine  the  evidence  in  the  case  of  Eusapia 
Palladino.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  were  the  facts  in 
this  case  not  so  strange,  they  would  have  received  acceptance 
long  before  now.  Had  Eusapia  not  been  known  by  that 
odious  term,  "medium,"  many  of  the  "scientific"  objections 
would  doubtless  have  been  removed,  and  still  more  would 
have  been  removed  were  it  said,  merely,  that  this  woman 
had  the  capacity  for  moving  physical  objects  without  contact. 
The  united  and  mutually  confirming  testimony  of  the  many 
hundreds  of  sitters  who  have  shared  in  the  seances  of  this 
medium  would  have  proved  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt  the 
veritable  existence  of  the  phenomena,  were  they  less  startling 
in  character.  But  when  we  find  facts  not  only  unexplained, 
but,  apparently,  running  counter  to  the  whole  of  human 
experience;  when  such  facts  contradict,  apparently,  the 
known  laws  of  biology,  physics,  and  psjxhology — what  can 
the  average  man  think  but  that  there  jnust  be  a  mistake 
somewhere,  and  that,  rather  than  admit  the  facts,  he  would 
prefer  to  believe  that  the  investigators  have  one  and  all  been 
deluded,  either  by  some  process  of  hallucination  or  by  the 
tricks  of  a  clever  medium  ? 

And  yet  the  facts  are  real!  To  my  mind,  at  least,  they 
can  no  longer  be  doubted.  Certainly  I  did  not  think  so 
until  I  had  obtained  my  own  sittings  and  seen  phenomena 


304      ^  Eusapia  Palladino 

occur  under  conditions  which  absolutely  precluded  fraud  as 
effectually  as  they  prevented  hallucination.  Having  been 
convinced,  however,  that  one  does  witness  extraordinary  phe- 
nomena at  such  times,  I  contend  that  it  becomes  our 
duty  to  study  such  facts  in  detail ;  to  ascertain  the  conditions 
under  which  they  are  obtained,  and  endeavor,  if  possible, 
to  improve  them;  in  short,  to  examine  into  the  physiological 
and  psychological  peculiarities  of  the  medium,  studying,  as 
best  we  may,  the  conditions  under  which  these  phenomena 
have  been  obtained.     To  these  I  accordingly  turn. 

Professor  Lombroso,  in  his  paper  Eusapia  Palladino  and 
Spiritism,  tells  us  the  following  interesting  facts  regarding 
the  medium  and  her  phenomena: 

"She  (Eusapia)  weighs  132  pounds,  and  her  weight  does 
not  (usually)  vary  after  a  seance.  The  left  eye  presents  the 
Claude  Bernard-Horner  phenomenon,  as  in  the  case  of  epi- 
leptics. .  .  . 

"The  sensitiveness  to  pain  is  sixty  on  the  right  and  thirty 
on  the  left  side,  being  much  more  delicate  than  that  of 
normal  persons,  whose  general  sensitiveness  when  measured 
by  the  same  methods  showed  45  mm.  and  sensitiveness  to 
pain  20  mm.  The  sense  of  weight  is  unequal  with  left- 
handedness.  .  .  .  On  one  occasion,  when  she  was  in  a  nor- 
mal state,  in  full  light,  she  held  her  left  hand  for  four  min- 
utes on  a  photographic  plate,  covered  with  three  sheets  of 
opaque  paper.  This  sufficed  to  throw  her  in  a  state  of 
trance,  and  caused  her  to  feel  in  her  hand  an  electric  shudder. 
When  the  plate  was  developed,  at  the  spot  which  corre- 
sponded with  her  index  finger,  there  was  a  blurred  line  of 
the  length  of  her  finger.  This  fact,  which  is  perhaps  con- 
nected with  spiritistic  radioactivity,  may  be  compared  with 
an  analogous  fact  observed  by  Flammarion,  which  was  that 
of  a  diaphanous  luminosity  round  the  outlines  of  the  fingers, 
which  almost  formed  a  second  misshapen  outline.     'When 


Eusapia  Palladino  30^ 

I  have  this  token,'  she  said,  'I  can  obtain  wonderful  things.' 
.  .  .  The  hypnotic  phenomena  which  resemble  spiritistic  phe- 
nomena so  much  that  they  are  easily  confused  with  them,  are 
frequent  with  Eusapia,  though  she  neither  perceives  metals 
nor  magnets.  Thus,  Dr.  Arullani,  merely  by  rubbing  her 
brow  with  his  hand,  succeeded  in  hypnotizing  her,  and  soon 
made  her  fall  into  a  cataleptic  state.  She  has  also  morbid  in- 
dications, which  almost  amount  to  hysteria;  she  passes 
quickly  from  joy  to  sorrow;  she  has  strange  fears — for  in- 
stance, that  of  soiling  her  hands;  she  is  very  impressionable, 
and  subject  to  dreams  in  spite  of  her  ripe  age;  she  has  fre- 
quent hallucinations,  and  also  fears  her  shadow.  As  a  child 
she  used  to  think  that  she  saw  two  eyes  gazing  at  her  behind 
the  trees  and  hedges.  When  she  is  angrj^  particularly  when 
she  is  offended  concerning  her  reputation  as  a  medium,  she  is 
violent  and  repulsive,  and  reviles  her  enemies.  .  .  .  These 
tendencies  are  in  strong  contrast  with  her  remarkable  kindli- 
ness, which  makes  her  give  what  she  earns  to  relieve  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  poor  and  of  children,  inspires  her  with  a  gen- 
erous pity  for  the  aged  and  weak  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render 
her  sleepless,  and  impels  her  to  protect  animals,  even  by  ill 
treating  those  who  injure  them. 

"In  the  trance  state,  which  occurs  even  in  full  light,  merely 
by  concentrating  her  attention  on  an  object,  she  first  turns 
pale,  the  pupils  of  her  eyes  turn  upward  and  inward,  her 
head  moving  from  side  to  side ;  she  then  becomes  ecstatic, 
and  many  of  her  gestures  are  similar  to  those  habitual  to 
hysterical  subjects,  such  as  yawns,  spasmodic  laughter,  fre- 
quent mystification,  and  at  the  same  time  vision  at  a  distance ; 
her  language  is  then  sometimes  very  elevated,  and  even 
scientific,  often  in  a  foreign  tongue,  with  very  rapid  idealiza- 
tion, so  that  she  seizes  the  ideas  of  those  present,  even  when 
they  are  not  expressed  aloud,  or  translates  them  into  some 
mysterious  form,  as,  for  Instance,  when  Professor  Morselll, 
In  order  to  Indicate  that  he  suspected  fraud,  uttered  the  let- 
ters E.  T.  V. 

"At  the  close  of  the  seance,  the  most  important  Incidents 
are  produced.    She  has  veritable  convulsions,  and  cries  out  as 


3o6  Eusapla  Palladino 

if  in  distress  and  falls  into  profound  sleep,  and  from  the 
parietal  depression  a  warm  fluid  evaporates,  sensible  to  the 
touch.  During  the  trance  she  transmits  many  of  her  powers 
to  those  present  by  touching  them  for  a  few  minutes  at  a 
time,  as  Home  could  communicate  momentary  incombusti- 
bility. After  the  seance  she  evinces  morbid  hypera^sthetic 
and  photophobic  sensibility.  She  has  frequent  hallucinations, 
and  becomes  delirious,  asking  to  be  guarded  lest  anyone 
should  hurt  her.  She  has  serious  digestive  disturbances,  so 
that  she  is  sick  if  she  has  eaten  before  the  seance ;  and  finally 
she  exhibits  actual  paralysis  of  the  legs,  so  that  it  is  necessary 
to  carry  her  and  to  dress  her.  These  disturbances  become 
much  worse  if,  through  the  carelessness  of  some  one  present, 
she  is  exposed  during  the  seance  to  sudden  illumination,  and 
this  recalls  to  us  the  account  of  the  Pythoness  of  Delphi 
whose  lives  were  shortened  by  their  prophesying.  .  .  ." 

A  large  number  of  seances  were  held  with  Eusapia  by 
Professor  Enrico  Morselli,  Director  of  the  Clinic  for  Nerv- 
ous and  Mental  Diseases  of  the  University  of  Genoa.  He 
has  published  the  results  of  his  investigations  in  two  large 
volumes,  entitled  Psychology  and  Spiritism.  A  few  passages 
I  quote  herewith — as  representative  of  Professor  Mor- 
selli's  views  on  Eusapia: 

"These  phenomena,  the  acceptance  of  which  I  at  first  con- 
sidered to  be  due  to  deception  or  gullibility,  to  fraud  or  illu- 
sion of  the  senses,  to  simple  faith  or  preconception,  are,  in  the 
very  great  majority  of  cases,  real  and  certain,  and  the  small 
minority,  as  to  which  I  am  uncertain,  do  not  in  any  way 
disprove  the  existence  of  a  category  of  extraordinary,  preter- 
normal  facts,  which  depend  upon  the  special  organization  or 
activity  of  certain  individuals.  ...  It  is  important  to  de- 
fine the  mental  state  of  the  medium  during  the  phenomena. 
I  will  only  say  here  that  whereas,  for  the  minor  phenomena 
(raps,  movements  of  the  table,  levitations,  etc.),  Eusapia 
can  be  seen  to  be  awake  and  attentive — although  very  soon 


Eusapia  Palladino  307 

her  attention  is  restricted  to  certain  groups  of  perceptions — 
yet  in  the  case  of  the  major  phenomena,  those  of  great  signifi- 
cance in  the  spiritistic  doctrine,  and  more  novel  to  the  ob- 
se/ver  (such  as  strong  action  at  a  distance,  apparitions,  forms, 
phantoms),  it  is  necessary  that  her  consciousness  should  be  ob- 
scured in  trance,  and  her  will  in  suspense.  It  is  only  then 
that  we  have  the  automatic  discharge  of  the  energies  which 
we  will  call  'mediumistic'  accumulated  in  her  nervous  cen- 
ters. Then  only  do  we  enter  into  the  mysterious  and  sur- 
prising region  of  true  spiritism." 

Professor  Morselli  offers  the  following  interesting  remarks 
relative  to  Eusapia's  mental  state  before  and  during  trance : 

"l.  First  of  all,  the  modifications  in  the  state  of  conscious- 
ness of  the  medium  and  sitters  during  the  seances.  In  Eusa- 
pia, who  is  a  subject  from  whom  a  very  conclusive  study 
can  be  made,  the  consciousness  is  now  clear,  now  clouded 
up  to  complete  suspension ;  she  then  very  plainly  shows  the 
operation  of  the  subconsciousness,  which  is  of  such  great  im- 
portance in  modern  psychology. 

"2.  The  state  of  auto-hypnosis,  to  which  the  Anglo- 
American  spiritists  have  given  the  name  of  'trance.'  I  have 
been  able  to  follow  its  phases,  examine  its  symptoms,  con- 
vince myself  of  its  affinity  with  hysterical  states  and  with 
hypnotism,  with  reserve  as  to  the  existence  of  a  'magnetic' 
state   distinct   from  the   'hjpnotic'   state. 

"3.  Suggestibility.  Eusapia  is  not  only  hypnotizable,  but 
also  suggestible  in  the  waking  state;  she  is  then  dominated 
by  various  auto-suggestions,  among  which  I  may  include  all 
the  superstitious  beliefs  as  to  her  previous  existence  in  another 
body  (  ?),  her  present  reincarnation,  her  submission  to  a  spirit 
guide  ('John  King,'  who  was  her  father  in  a  previous  life), 
etc.  This  mass  of  improbabilities  and  'spiritistic'  conjectures 
has  formed  itself  in  her  mind  by  the  suggestion  of  others 
(training  by  Damiani,  instruction  of  Chiaja,  influence  of 
spiritistic  circles,  etc.).  Eusapia  is  very  ignorant,  and  one 
cannot  listen  to  her  without  smiling  when  she  tries  to  put 


3o8  Eusapia  Palladino 

forward  her  naive  or  involved  explanations  of  her  own  phe- 
nomena. She,  however,  does  not  speak  much  or  willingly 
of  theoretical  spiritism;  she  does  not  do  like  Home,  Stainton 
Moses,  or  Mme.  d'Esperance,  who  took  upon  themselves  the 
office  of  doctrinarian  propagandists.  Eusapia  is  indeed  proud 
of  her  mediumistic  athleticism,  and  becomes  triumphantly 
sarcastic  toward  the  incredulous  when  any  extraordinary 
phenomenon  succeeds  well,  but  is  modest  enough  in  professing 
or  thinking  of  herself  as  a  living  champion  of  preternormal 
psychology. 

"4.  Oniric  or  dream  phenomena.  A  great  part  even  of 
the  material  phenomena  of  Palladino's  mediumship  is  con- 
nected with  her  strong,  though  monotonous  and  stereotyped, 
activity  during  sleep. 

"5.  Personifications.  Ordinarily  in  the  mediumistic  half- 
sleep,  and  still  more  so  in  'trance,'  Eusapia  believes  herself 
changed  into  other  personalities,  into  the  child  of  'John  King,' 
which  she  had  been  in  a  former  incarnation.  Sometimes  it 
seems  that  she  herself  is  impersonated  in  John  King,  who 
speaks  through  her  mouth  and  acts  through  her.  Other 
times  she  personifies  the  spirits  of  the  deceased  whom,  by 
desire  of  those  present,  or  for  reasons  of  proselytism,  she 
imagines  that  she  evokes.  This  transformation  of  person- 
ality offers  a  large  field  for  psychological  research,  but  in 
Eusapia  it  does  not  assume  the  intense  coloring  nor  the  pow^r 
of  expression  seen  in  other  intellectual  and  intuitive  me- 
diums and  psychographists,  as,  for  instance,  in  Flournoy's 
Helene  Smith,  of  Geneva,  or  of  Randone,  of  Rome. 

"6.  Communications  and  messages  in  Italian.  These  are 
mostly  given  by  means  of  the  table  ('typtology'),  rarely 
with  the  voice  (exceptionally,  they  say,  by  writing,  also). 
During  our  sittings,  as  we  gave  the  most  attention  to  physi- 
cal effects,  these  phenomena,  always  scarce  with  Eusapia, 
were  extremely  rare  and  of  little  interest. 

"7.  Communications  in  foreit^n  languages.  One  or  two 
are  attributed  to  Eusapia,  who  speaks  even  Italian  very  badly, 
and  expresses  herself  only  in  a  corrupt  vernacular;  but  al- 
though this  was  asserted  to  me  by  persons  worthy  of  belief, 


Eusapla  Palladino  309 

no  such  phenomenon  was  observed  by  me,  and  I  have  strong 
doubts  about  it. 

"8.  Divination  of  thought  and  mental  suggestion.  I  have 
collected  a  few  examples  of  these,  cliicfly  in  the  series  of  sit- 
tings in  1 90 1 -2 ;  they  were  also  described  by  my  companion  in 
the  group,  Dr.  G.  Venzano,  an  excellent  observer ;  however, 
they  appear  to  me  probable  rather  than  proved,  and  many  at- 
tempts of  mine  to  suggestionize  Eusapia  mentally  were  fruit- 
less, though  I  succeeded  in  hypnotizing  her ;  this,  however, 
does  not  imply  that  others  may  not  obtain  better  results. 

"9.  Lucidity  and  clairvoyance.  It  has  not  been  proved 
to  me  that  Eusapia  hears  or  sees  or  feels  at  a  distance,  nor 
that  she  has  premonitions,  or  precognitions,  or  presents  other 
similar  metapsychic  phenomena.  I  believe  that  Chiaja  has 
asserted  it,  but  it  would  be  necessary  to  examine  her  more  at 
ease,  and  while  living  close  to  her. 

"10.  Externalization  of  sensibility.  The  able  observer, 
Colonel  de  Rochas  says  that  Palladino  has  given  him  some 
elementary  phenomena  of  this  very  singular  subnormal  state ; 
I  also  have  succeeded  in  making  her  perceive  (with  closed 
eyes)  pricks  with  a  pin  made  in  the  air  an  inch  or  two  from 
her  skin,  but  I  am  not  certain  about  all  my  experiments;  I 
should  have  to  repeat  and  scrupulously  verify  them,  and  not 
as  passing  and  half-concealed  observations ;  this  is  not  easy 
to  do,  on  account  of  the  repugnance  of  Eusapia  (and  of  all 
mediums)   to  physiological  examinations. 

"All  this  subjective  portion  of  the  mediumistic  phenomena 
is  revealed  by  the  attitude,  the  deportment,  the  physiognomy 
and  mimetic  action,  the  speech  and  the  entire  conduct  of  Eu- 
sapia; and  if  on  the  whole  even  the  amateurs  of  seances  and 
the  uninitiated  in  psj^cholog}'  are  able  to  grasp  superficially 
the  main  and  most  apparent  lines,  in  reality  it  belongs  to  us, 
psj^chologists  and  medical  alienists,  to  apply  to  the  subjective 
phenomena  of  mediums  the  analytic  and  synthetic  methods 
and  procedures  of  psychical  examination  ;  and  I  have  given 
a  particularized  exposition  of  these  methods  in  the  two  vol- 
umes of  my  Seinejotira  delle  malatiic  wentaU,  as  I  give  it  in 
my  lessons  in  experimental  psycholog}'." 


3IO  Eusapia  Palladino 

There  is  a  great  deal  to  learn  about   Eusapia's  seances, 
for  they   are   far  more  complicated    than  would  appear   at 
first  sight.     One  must  be  familiar,  not  only  with  the  general 
run  of  the  phenomena,  and  know  what  to  expect,  but  one 
must  make  a  careful  psychological  study  of  the  medium,  in 
order  to  insure  the  best  results,  and  cater,  more  or  less,  to 
her  various  prejudices  and   idiosyncrasies.     Thus,    Eusapia 
has  a  great  dislike  to  soiling  her  hands.     She  has  a  great 
antipathy  to  mechanical  or  electrical  apparatus  of  any  kind, 
or  to  anything  that  she  does  not  understand.     She  dislikes 
excessively  being  controlled  in  too  severe  a  manner — since, 
if  her  hands  are  grasped  too  firmly,  or  if  the  controller's  feet 
are  planted  too  solidly  on  hers,  it  pains  her,  because  of  the 
hyperassthetic  patches  or  zones  on  the  backs  of  her  hands,  and 
on   her  insteps.      Some  investigators  endeavor  to  force   the 
phenomena — that  is  to  say,  insist  upon  their  production,  claim- 
ing  that  the  best  results  can  be  obtained  in   this  manner. 
Others,  on  the  contrary,  who  have  had  equal  experience,  con- 
tend that  this  is  entirely  the  wrong  course,  and  that  the  in- 
vestigators should  merely  sit  expectantly,  without  controlling 
the  medium  more  than  is  necessary,  and  wait  passively  for 
results.    If  no  attention  be  paid  to  the  lesser  phenomena  oc- 
curring in  Eusapia's  immediate  vicinity,  say  these  investiga- 
tors, more  important  phenomena  will  be  obtained  at  a  dis- 
tance.   I  may  say  that  this  is  opposed  to  Professor  Morselli's 
observations,  and  to  our  own.    We  discovered  that  the  more 
rigorous  the  control,  other  things  being  equal,  and  the  greater 
the  contact  with  the  medium's  body,  the  better  the  results. 
Above  all,  suspicion  must  not  be  shown  at  a  seance,  for  if 
Eusapia  feels   ill   at   ease  on   this  account,   phenomena  will 
almost  invariably  be  inhibited.     This  is  not  due  to  fear  that 
close  investigation  will  expose  her  in  trickery,  since,  no  mat- 


Eusapia  Palladino  311 

ter  how  rigorous  the  control,  //  suspicicn  be  not  manifested, 
excellent  phenomena  will  result. 

On  some  occasions  Eusapia  will  talk  of  "John  King,"  her 
supposed  control,  and  of  spirits ;  at  other  times  she  will  speak 
of  "my  fluid"  or  of  the  "wind"  that  issues  from  her  head, 
leg,  and  various  other  parts  of  her  body.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  her  own  idea  of  the  phenomena  seems  quite  hazy  and  ill- 
defined.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  a  medium  cannot  arise  such 
as  Eusapia,  who  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  psychologist ! 

Eusapia  talks  but  little  during  a  seance,  except  at  first, 
when  she  is,  generally,  finishing  some  narrative  begun  before 
she  entered  the  seance  room,  and  continued  after  she  has 
seated  herself  at  the  table.  But  this  soon  lags,  and  silence 
intervenes,  except  for  an  occasional  remark  addressed  to  the 
sitters,  or  a  few  words  addressed  to  "John."  Generally, 
during  the  seance,  however,  the  table  will  tilt  four  times,  be- 
ing the  conventional  code  adopted  to  signify  "talk."  The 
investigators  are  thereupon  expected  to  converse,  not  to  Eu- 
sapia, but  to  each  other,  and  a  phenomenon  generally  occurs 
soon  after  this  signal  is  given.  We  ourselves  did  not  do  so, 
however,  as  a  rule,  regarding  it  (evidentially)  as  an  attempt 
to  distract  our  attention,  and  spoke  but  little,  while  we  re- 
doubled our  attention.  Phenomena  invariably  followed 
nevertheless.  When  Eusapia  has  passed  into  deep  trance, 
she  rarely  speaks  at  all,  and  all  conversation  with  the  in- 
telligent agent,  whatever  it  is,  producing  these  phenomena, 
is  carried  on  through  the  table — which  is  tilted  automatic- 
ally— or  by  raps,  or  levitations,  which  are  apparently  pro- 
duced by  the  agent  direct,  and  without  the  intervention  of 
her  physical  body. 

Eusapia's  psychology  is  a  puzzle  to  all  her  investigators. 
Questioned  about  her  phenomena,  she  either  offers  contra- 


312  Eusapia  Palladino 

dictory  or  unintelligible  replies,  or  shrugs  her  shoulders  and 
says  nothing.  We  asked  her  on  one  occasion  what  feelings 
she  experienced  when  a  phenomenon  was  about  to  take  place. 
She  said  she  felt  annoyed,  irritated,  somewhat  nauseated, 
and,  just  before  the  production  of  the  phenomenon,  a  cloud 
seemed  to  pass  over  her  mind,  and  she  remembered  nothing 
until  it  had  transpired.  She  stated  that  she  remembered  most 
of  the  phenomena  that  happened  during  our  early  seances, 
but  occasionally  had  lapses  of  memory  when  important  phe- 
nomena took  place,  and  sometimes,  as  during  the  sixth  seance, 
remembered  very  little  of  what  had  transpired.  This  is  a 
significant  fact,  seeming  to  show  that  during  the  lesser  phe- 
nomena, when  the  energy  is  directed  by  her  own  will,  she 
retains  memory  of  all  that  occurs ;  "but  during  the  more  im- 
portant phenomena,  so  to  speak,  when  an  independent  in- 
telligence is  shown,  she  remembers  little  or  nothing  of  such 
occurrences.  It  would  seem  that  when  "John  King"  (what- 
ever that  may  mean)  is  merged  with  her  personality,  amnesia 
takes  place,  and  the  more  important  phenomena  are  produced. 

Eusapia  stated  to  us  that  she  is  rarely  or  never  troubled 
with  manifestations,  or  is  in  any  way  psychic  or  mediumistic 
at  other  times  than  during  the  seance ;  then  only  are  her 
powers  displayed.  She  has,  two  or  three  times  during  her 
life,  experienced  premonitions  and  vivid  dreams,  but  such 
experiences  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand  and 
are  probably  not  more  numerous  than  many  persons  have 
experienced  in  their  own  lifetimes.  In  this  she  differs  from 
other  mediums,  who  have  been,  as  a  rule,  more  or  less  psychic 
constantly,  and  phenomena  have  frequently  occurred  in  their 
presence  when  they  did  not  wish  them  to  do  so,  and  against 
their  own  direct  volition. 

Eusapia  was  quite  unable  to  tell  us  how  she  could  dis- 


Eusapla  Palladino  313 

tinguish  one  phenomenon  from  another  when  it  was  about 
to  occur,  though  this  distinction  is  certainly  clear  in  her  own 
mind,  and  their  production  depends  largely  upon  her  will 
in  many  cases,  since  she  frequently  says,  "I  will  show  you 
a  head,"  or,  "I  will  fetch  such  and  such  an  object  from  the 
cabinet,"  and  the  head  is  shown,  or  the  object  is  fetched  im- 
mediately afterwards. 

It  is  an  interesting  psychological  fact  that  phenomena  may 
occasionally  be  obtained  by  merely  clamoring  for  them,  when 
otherwise  they  would  not  have  manifested  at  all.  Thus, 
Mr.  Oilman  Hall  obtained  lights  by  incessantly  demanding 
them,  and  this  happened  upon  various  other  occasions,  with 
different  investigators.  It  is  probable  that  this  adds  some 
stimulus  to  the  phenomena,  but  what  that  stimulus  is 
(whether  it  be  the  psychological  effect  upon  Eusapia,  or 
whether  added  energy  is  really  unconsciously  liberated  by 
the  sitters,  because  of  their  mental  attitude,  or  whether  the 
words  uttered  are  heard  by  "John,"  and  have  a  stimulating 
efiEect  upon  him)  I  do  not  know.  But  it  is  certain  that  this 
insistent  clamoring  for  phenomena  will  generally  result  in 
their  production. 

Foreign  objects  unknown  to,  and  previously  untouched  by, 
the  medium  do  not  seem  to  be  so  likely  to  be  operated  upon 
as  more  familiar  objects.  I  mj^self  at  first  tried  to  get  things 
out  of  my  pocket  moved,  but  unsuccessfully.  Later  I  chose 
things  belonging  to  or  connected  with  Eusapia — taking  them, 
however,  secretly  and  arranging  them  as  I  pleased  before- 
hand. These  were  successfully  moved  in  almost  every  case, 
provided  they  were  inside  the  room.  It  may  be  well  for  in- 
tending experimenters  to  remember  that  when  they  seal  things 
up  or  otherwise  place  them  for  experiment,  it  is  preferable 
to  choose  something  previously  handled  by  the  medium,  and 


314  Eusapia  Palladino 

not  some  foreign  object,  without  interest  for  her  or  In  as- 
sociation with  her.  The  probability  that  the  latter  objects 
are  best  may  sound  suspicious,  as  so  many  other  things  may 
sound,  but,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  the  suspicious  nature  of  the  fact 
is  only  apparent;  such  objects  will  serve  the  purpose  as  well 
as  any  other  if  properly  arranged,  and  cannot  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  human  character  of  the  manifestation;  nor 
can  it  be  considered  altogether  unreasonable. 

How  can  we  conceive  such  objects  to  be  moved?  Is  there 
a  veritable  actio  ad  distansf  Or  is  some  energy  projected 
from  the  periphery  of  the  medium's  body,  and  propagated 
by  means  of  waves,  through  the  air,  or  through  the  ether? 
Is  it  human  vitality  that  is  thus  externalized,  or  is  it  some 
other  force,  wholly  unknown  ?  We  cannot  say.  Certain  it 
is  that  no  instrument  has  as  yet  succeeded  in  measuring  this 
force,  which  seems  only  to  affect  the  object  it  strikes.  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge,  commenting  on  these  phenomena,  in  the 
Journal  of  the  S.  P.  R.,  November,  1894,  says: 

"Physical  movements  imply  a  source  of  energy,  and  it  may 
be  assumed  that  the  energy  is  drawn  from  those  present — 
principally,  I  suppose,  almost  entirely,  from  the  medium, 
who  was  sometimes  completely  exhausted — although  she  was 
usually  quite  restored  by  a  night's  rest.  I  shall  leave  others 
to  report  on  the  dynamometer  readings,  which,  as  already 
incidentally  mentioned,  were  taken  before  and  after  each 
seance,  in  order  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the  source  of  the 
energy;  nothing  has  yet  been  clearly  proved  by  them  so  far 
as  I  know,  but  if  once  the  movements  are  admitted,  it  will 
be  conceded  that  animal  vitality  is  the  most  natural,  indeed 
the  only  likely,  source  of  the  energy  employed.  ...  I  do  not 
regard  the  attempt  at  detection  of  the  seat  of  the  reaction  as 
affecting  the  evidence  for  the  reality  of  the  movements,  but 
as  conveying  informations  as  to  the  laws  of  the  unknown 
force.     I  anticipate,  but  quite  gratuitously,  that  the  reaction 


Eusapia  Palladino  315 

will  be  found  on  the  person  of  the  medium,  so  that  when 
she  is  supporting  a  table  she  will  be  found  heavier  by  the 
weight  of  the  table/  but  it  by  no  means  necessarily  follows 
that  it  is  so ;  it  is  conceivable  that  the  reaction  will  be  diffused 
through  the  room.  A  reaction  may  be  taken  up  and  diffused 
by  air  molecules — as,  for  instance,  in  the  case  of  a  lamb  be- 
ing carried  off  by  an  eagle ;  it  would  not  in  that  case  be  easy 
to  demonstrate  the  still  existing  weight  of  the  lamb.  It  is 
a  matter  for  experiment  to  determine  where  the  reaction  is ; 
and  if  no  adequate  reaction  can  be  found,  the  phenomenon 
will  have  to  be  likened  more  nearly  to  the  action  of  a  flying 
animal  than  to  that  of  an  animal  resting  on  the  ground."  " 

During  a  sitting,  and  for  the  production  of  phenomena, 
a  large  amount  of  Eusapia's  energy  is  sapped,  and,  other 
things  being  equal,  the  better  the  seance,  and  the  more  re- 
markable the  phenomena,  the  greater  is  this  depletion  of  vital 
forces.  After  a  seance,  Eusapia  is  indeed  a  pitiable  object. 
She  appears  shrunken  together,  wxak,  nauseated,  with  loss 
of  memory  of  much  that  has  transpired,  her  face  deeply  lined 
and  sallow — giddiness,  and  general  uncertainty  as  to  her  sur- 
roundings— these  are  all  symptoms  which  are  observed  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  seance,  when  even  graver  symptoms,  such 
as  hysteria,  partial  paralysis,  etc.,  do  not  supervene. 

This  vitality,  which  seems  to  be  used  in  the  production  of 
the  phenomena,  while  it  is  drawn  mostly  from  the  medium, 
is  certainly  drawn  in  large  part  from  the  circle  also.  All 
of  us  noticed  this  more  or  less,  and  slept  to  an  unusually  late 
hour  the  following  morning.  Further,  in  my  own  case  es- 
pecially— perhaps   because   of   my   continued   bodily   contact 

^This  supposition  has  now  been  proved  correct.  The  Psychological  Insti- 
tute of  Paris  found  this  to  be  the  case. 

^  For  a  further  discussion  of  these  difficult  questions,  see  Count  de  Couden- 
hove's  article,  "Concerning  Physical  Phenomena  in  Mediumship,"  in  the  July- 
September  (1909)  Annals  (pp.  467-483). 


3i6  Eusapia  Palladino 

with  the  medium — I  noticed  after  about  six  seances  a  pain 
in  the  base  of  the  brain,  and  a  general  feeling  of  exhaustion, 
which  many  others  have  experienced  at  the  beginning  of  an 
invasion  by  external  intelligences,  and  in  cases  of  so-called 
"obsession."  I  did  not  notice  this  during  the  seance  itself, 
but  generally  afterwards,  and  particularly  the  following 
morning.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that 
Mrs.  Piper's  trances,  when  the  sittings  have  been  very  success- 
ful, draw  vitality  in  a  similar  manner  from  the  sitters.  Dr. 
Hodgson  especially  noticed  this,  and  one  of  his  chief  reasons 
for  keeping  so  perpetually  in  perfect  physical  training  was 
to  build  up  and  offset  the  vital  drain  which  the  sittings  con- 
stituted during  the  first  two  or  three  days  of  every  week. 

Eusapia  stated  on  one  occasion  that  the  phenomena  were 
produced  in  proportion  to  the  density  of  the  will  of  the  me- 
dium— by  the  force  of  the  will  of  the  medium.  She  stated 
that  the  combined  will  of  the  sitters  helped  to  secure  results. 
Sometimes  phenomena  obey  the  strongest  will  in  the  circle — 
as  was  demonstrated  at  a  seance  held  on  June  ii,  1905. 
Exercise  of  the  will  of  the  medium  will  induce  phenomena; 
and  corresponding  to  this  exercise  of  will  power,  contractions 
of  her  muscles,  either  of  the  arm,  the  leg,  or  even  of  the  neck, 
take  place.  Music  was  not  found  to  be  beneficial ;  rather  the 
contrary. 

On  another  occasion  Eusapia  said  that  there  were  two 
kinds  of  fluidic  currents:  one  proceeding  from  the  cabinet, 
and  the  other  proceeding  from  the  chain  of  sitters.  The  one 
coming  from  the  cabinet  was,  so  to  say,  fed  by  that  coming 
from  the  chain.  In  her  Paris  experiments  she  defined  dif- 
ferently the  character  of  the  fluids  coming  from  the  different 
controllers.  That  of  M.  Yourievitch  was  jerky  or  spas- 
modic; that  of  M.  Courtier  was  strong  and  tranquil;  that 


Eusapia  Palladino  317 

of  M.  d'Arsonval  was  gentle  and  favorable.  She  also  named 
the  various  sensations  which  she  experienced,  and  which, 
she  said,  came  from  the  hands  of  various  persons.  The 
moral  characters  of  her  controllers  also  plays  a  very  impor- 
tant part  in  the  production  of  phenomena — according  to 
Eusapia. 

Dr.  Ochorowicz,  in  discussing  another  case  under  ob- 
servation by  him  at  the  time  (that  of  Mile.  Tomczyk),  gives 
a  theoretical  explanation  of  the  manner  in  which  objects  are 
transported  from  place  to  place,  levitated,  etc.  This  ex- 
planation was  made  to  him  by  '*John  King,"  and  is  to  the 
following  effect: 

"After  having  explained  the  duplication  of  the  medium's 
hands  in  the  fluidic  attouchments,  John,  that  is  to  say  Eusa- 
pia, in  complete  trance,  gave  me  still  further  explanations 
as  to  the  transport  of  slates.  With  a  view  of  obtaining  some 
sign  by  writing,  we  had  prepared  two  slates,  tied  together 
and  placed  in  the  center  of  the  table. 

"When  John  was  explaining  to  me  that  it  was  easier  for 
him  to  materialize  the  tips  of  the  fingers  and  the  nails  than 
any  other  part  of  the  arm,  I  felt  something  hard  tapping 
lightly  on  my  head. 

"  'Those  are  the  slates,'  said  John. 

"In  answer  to  my  question  as  to  how  he  was  able  to  hold 
them  in  the  air,  he  gave  me  all  his  theory,  which  I  will  try 
to  reproduce  as  faithfully  as  possible: 

"The  hands  of  all  present,  and  principally  the  medium's, 
release  an  emanation  which  John  simply  called  'fluid.'  This 
fluid  forms  bundles  of  straight  rays,  which  are  like  stretched 
threads  and  support  the  slates.  When  these  threads  or  rays 
are  suflFiciently  strong,  the  object  may  perhaps  be  raised  above 
the  heads,  because  then  the  rays  converge  on  to  a  surface  or 
a  point  of  the  object,  becoming,  so  to  speak,  rigid,  and  the 
object  rests  on  them  as  on  shafts.  But  their  power  depends 
on  certain  conditions,  and,  above  all,  on  the  harmony  es- 


3i8  Eusapia  Palladino 

tabllshed  between  the  various  fluids.  By  suddenly  changing 
the  conditions,  for  example,  by  breaking  the  chain  of  hands, 
you  cut  the  current  and  the  power  from  the  fluidic  rays 
is  dispersed. 

"In  order  to  verify  this  assertion  of  John's,  I  suddenly 
withdrew  my  hands  from  my  neighbor  on  my  left,  and  im- 
mediately the  slates  fell  onto  the  table. 

"  'That  is  true,'  I  said  to  John,  'but  do  you  know  that  I 
had  an  impression  that  the  slates  had  fallen  from  the  me- 
dium's head?' 

"  'I  shall  prove  to  you  by  and  by  that  you  made  a  mistake.' 

"We  reformed  the  chain,  as  he  directed,  and  a  few  minutes 
afterwards  the  slates  were  again  in  the  air,  above  our  heads. 
'And  now  lift  up  your  hand,'  said  John.  We  raised  our 
hands,  Eusapia  and  I,  as  high  as  it  was  possible  without  let- 
ting go  of  each  other's  hands,  and  the  slates  manifested  their 
presence  at  that  height  several  times  by  touching  our  hands. 

"It  was  evident: 

"i.  That  the  slates  were  much  higher  than  the  medium's 
head. 

"2.  That  the  raising  of  both  our  hands,  without  breaking 
the  chain,  did  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  mechanical 
action  of  John's  rays." 

It  was  ascertained  by  us  that,  in  the  trance  state,  a  greater 
or  lesser  degree  of  amnesia  was  present.  We  ascertained, 
moreover — which  the  Paris  investigators  did  not — that,  the 
more  important  the  phenomena,  other  things  being  equal,  the 
greater  the  degree  of  amnesia. 

Excessive  hyperaesthesia  was  ascertained  by  the  Paris  inves- 
tigators to  be  present  in  the  hands,  head  and  feet.  Eusapia 
prefers  to  hold  the  hands  of  her  controllers,  rather  than  be 
held  by  them.  These  hyperaesthetic  spots  appear  in  zones  or 
patches — a  common  phenomenon  in  hysterical  cases.  This 
hyperaesthetic  condition  is  particularly  marked  on  her  shoul- 
der blades. 


Eusapia  Palladino  319 

Further,  notes  were  taken  of  the  respiration,  circulation, 
blood  pressure,  and  pulse  rate — before  and  after  the  seance. 
Experiments  were  conducted  with  the  galvanometer.  An 
analysis  of  the  urine  was  also  made. 

A  number  of  experiments  were  conducted,  seeming  to  show 
that  objects  placed  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Eusa- 
pia varied  in  weight.  Eusapia  also  succeeded  in  discharging 
an  electroscope  without  contact.^ 

It  is  a  very  interesting  fact,  and  one  telling  strongly  in 
favor  of  the  genuine  character  of  the  phenomena,  it  seems 
to  me,  that  just  before  their  production,  and  especially  at 
the  commencement  of  the  seance,  Eusapia  shows  certain 
physiological  peculiarities.  Thus,  we  frequently  noticed  that 
the  medium  hiccoughed  violently  whenever  she  went  into  a 
trance  (or  whenever  she  did  not  pass  into  trance,  if  phe- 
nomena were  following),  but  this  soon  left  her.  She  also 
sighs,  groans,  and  seems  to  be  extremely  uncomfortable,  until 
the  phenomena  are  well  under  way;  and  especially  during 
the  production  of  ^ny  larger  phenomena  she  cries,  "Oh,  dear! 
Oh,  dear!"  and  groans  repeatedly.  When  she  passes  into 
trance,  however,  this  suffering  is  lost,  and  partial  or  com- 
plete amnesia  and  anaesthesia  take  the  place  of  the  former 
hyperaesthesia,  and  acutely  alert  consciousness.     The  lesser 

'  This  phenomenon  has  been  recorded  several  times  by  other  observers. 
Thus,  in  the  August-September  Annals,  1908,  is  an  article  by  Dr.  Imoda,  en- 
titled "The  Action  of  Eusapia  Palladino  on  the  Electroscope."  He  observed 
this  phenomenon  repeatedly.  He  observed,  also,  that  the  instrument  was  not 
discharged  immediately,  as  would  be  the  case  were  a  radium  salt  introduced, 
but  "in  the  case  of  Eusapia  the  discharge  did  not  take  place  until  after  several 
minutes,  as  though  the  body  of  the  medium,  previously  passive,  suddenly  pro- 
jected a  jet  of  these  radiations.  That  is  to  say,  the  emission  of  the  mediumistic 
rays  appeared  not  to  be  continuous,  but  by  shocks,  as,  perhaps,  in  the  case  with 
the  electrical  discharge  of  the  gymnotus  and  torpedo.  .  .  .  The  mediumistic 
rays  are  able  of  themselves  to  become  a  conductor  of  electricity,  and  that,  in 
consequence,  the  radiations  of  radium,  the  cathodic  radiations  of  the  Crookei 
tube,  and  mediumistic  radiations,  are  fundamentally  the  same." 


320  Eusapia  Palladino 

phenomena  are,  apparently,  nearly  always  remembered — the 
more  remarkable  ones  are  forgotten. 

One  fact  of  interest  and  significance  should  be  noticed 
here.  During  the  greater  portion  of  our  early  sittings  the 
medium  suffered  from  paroxysms  of  violent  coughing,  which 
came  on  as  the  seance  opened.  She  had  suffered  from  them 
more  or  less  all  day.  But  we  invariably  noticed  that,  as 
soon  as  the  phenomena  actually  commenced,  this  cough  com- 
pletely disappeared  and  did  not  again  manifest  itself  until 
the  conclusion  of  the  seance,  when  the  coughing  was  re- 
sumed. It  was  as  though  the  energy  normally  used  in  the 
emotive  process  of  coughing  had,  during  the  seance,  become 
diverted  into  the  production  of  the  phenomena.  One  incident 
known  to  me  seems  to  verify  this  supposition.  My  father 
used  to  be  a  great  sufferer  from  neuralgia — the  pain  extend- 
ing up  the  cheek  and  including  the  teeth  and  ear.  On  one 
occasion  he  was  suffering  from  a  bad  cold  in  the  head  and 
was  continually  "snuffing"  and  blowing  his  nose,  and  had 
been  for  some  days  past.  On  this  occasion  severe  neuralgia 
set  in  on  the  evening  of  the  second  day  and  lasted  all  night. 
It  disappeared  in  the  morning,  whereupon  my  father  dis- 
covered for  the  first  time  that  his  cold  had  been  entirely  sus- 
pended during  the  entire  night  (he  had  not  once  desired  to 
use  his  handkerchief)  and  did  not  return  until  the  neuralgia 
had  in  turn  left  him ! 

In  this  case  it  would  appear  that  the  vital  energies  of  the 
body  were  so  fully  occupied  by  the  pain  of  the  neuralgia  at- 
tack that  they  were  monopolized  by  that,  and  were  unable 
to  "pay  any  attention"  to  the  cold  and  its  resultant  phenome- 
na. They  were  diverted  and  directed  into  other  channels, 
as  it  were. 

Similarly,  it  seems  to  me,  are  the  energies  of  Eusapia  di- 


Eusapia  Palladino  321 

rected  during  a  seance  into  the  production  of  phenomena, 
and  such  minor  manifestations  as  are  represented  by  a  cold 
and  cough  are  allowed  to  "stand  over"  until  the  termina- 
tion of  the  seance,  when  they  are  again  allowed  free  play. 
In  any  case,  it  seems  to  me,  the  fact  tells  in  favor  of  the 
genuine  character  of  the  observed  phenomena. 

There  is  one  point  I  wish  to  emphasize  just  here,  and  that 
is  that  it  is  impossible  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  Eusapia's 
sittings,  and  of  the  phenomena  that  occur  thereat,  until  a 
large  number  of  sittings  has  been  obtained.  Investigators 
frequently  obtain  two  or  three  seances,  or  even  one,  and  form 
definite  opinions,  one  way  or  the  other,  as  to  the  phenomena 
from  that  one  sitting.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  do  this  with 
any  fairness  either  to  the  medium  or  to  her  phenomena.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  Eusapia  is,  in  such  cases,  giving  a 
first  sitting — or,  if  given  to  different  investigators,  a  series 
of  first  sittings,  and  it  has  been  ascertained  by  direct  ex- 
periment that  Mrs.  Piper's  first  sittings  are  almost  invariably 
poor,  and  that  the  character  of  the  evidence  improves  both 
as  to  quality  and  quantity  the  longer  the  sittings  are  con- 
tinued. Thus,  the  second  sitting  would  be  much  better  than 
the  first,  the  third  better  than  the  second,  and  so  on.  It  is 
the  same  with  Eusapia.  We  noticed  this  especially  in  our 
sittings.  The  first  (although  good,  and  in  it  the  phenomena 
were  produced  chiefly  in  the  light)  was  limited  to  the  produc- 
tion of  three  types  of  phenomena — viz. :  table  levitations,  raps, 
and  the  blowing  out  of  the  cabinet  curtains  without  apparent 
cause.  At  our  second  seance  these  same  phenomena  were 
repeated,  but  several  others  were  added :  movements  of  ob- 
jects without  contact,  playing  upon  musical  instruments,  etc. 
Every  seance  thenceforth  added  some  fresh  phenomenon. 
Lights,    touches    by    invisible    hands,    appearance   of  visible 


322  Eusapia  Palladino 

hands,  appearance  of  heads,  carrying  about  of  objects,  levita- 
tions  of  a  small  stool  outside  the  cabinet,  touches  by  visible 
hands — these  were  all  added  to  our  stock  of  phenomena  as 
the  seances  progressed.  On  the  whole,  we  were,  therefore, 
much  more  impressed  at  the  conclusion  of  the  tenth  seance 
than  we  were  at  the  conclusion  of  the  second  or  third. 

During  the  third  seance,  as  I  have  said,  we  had  detected 
fraud.  The  first  two  sittings  had  both  been  held  in  good 
light,  and  under  excellent  test  conditions,  and  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  second  sitting  it  is  safe  to  say  that  we  were 
quite  convinced  of  the  reality  of  her  phenomena.  Our  men- 
tal state  at  the  close  of  the  third  sitting  would  be  difficult 
to  analyze.  We  had  naturally  reverted  to  a  skeptical  atti- 
tude, and  yet  the  first  two  sittings  impressed  us  almost  as 
much  as  ever,  and  we  were  as  totally  unable  as  ever  to  ac- 
count for  many  of  the  phenomena  we  had  observed.  I 
cannot  conceive  a  more  exasperating  state  of  affairs  than  to 
have  two  or  three  sittings,  and  be  left  in  mid-air,  so  to  speak, 
as  to  their  interpretation.  In  spite  of  our  utter  inability  to 
account  for  the  phenom.ena  of  the  first  two  seances,  we  never- 
theless should  have  felt  ourselves  quite  unable  to  formulate 
any  definite  opinion  either  for  or  against,  had  we  ter- 
minated our  series  at  this  seance.  It  was  only  after  we  had 
obtained  several  more  sittings,  and  phenomena  had  been  ob- 
served under  what  we  conceived  to  be  absolutely  test  condi- 
tions, that  we  were  reconverted  to  a  belief  in  her  phenomena 
— a  final,  irrevocable  belief.  Whatever  fraud  we  had  dis- 
covered, whatever  fraud  might  be  discovered  in  the  future, 
we  felt  and  still  feel  that  we  had  observed  genuine  phenome- 
na, which  could  not  be  explained  by  any  methods  of  trickery 
or  deceit. 

I  have  before  referred  to  the  manner  in  which  the  facts 


^ 


Eusapia  Palladino  323 

rolled  off  our  minds,  and  failed  to  find  lodgment  and  force 
belief.  Seance  after  seance,  we  remained  doubtful,  until  the 
sixth,  when  we  felt  that  we  had  become  finally  and  irre- 
vocably convinced.  The  facts  had  at  last  found  lodgment  in 
our  minds,  and  we  felt  that  our  observations  had  not  been 
mistaken.  Having  once  been  convinced  that  genuine  phe- 
nomena did  occur,  we  determined,  after  the  eighth  seance, 
to  relax  our  precautions  somewhat,  and  give  Eusapia  freer 
play,  so  to  speak.  Accordingly,  we  allowed  the  medium  to 
conduct  herself  largely  as  she  chose,  relaxing  our  precautions 
purposely  in  order  to  see  the  result.  One  might  suppose, 
a  priori,  that  better  phenomena  occurred  in  consequence  of 
this.  Such,  however,  was  not  the  case.  Eusapia  immediately 
tried  to  trick  us,  and  we  again  detected  for  the  first  time 
since  the  third  seance,  attempted  substitution  of  hands!  We 
accordingly  insisted  upon  rigidity  of  control,  and  when  this 
had  been  established,  and  all  possibility  of  trickery  eliminated, 
we  again  obtained  excellent  phenomena,  under  the  best  of 
conditions. 

As  the  result  of  our  seances,  we  came  to  this  conclusion : 
That  when  the  force  is  strong,  phenomena  take  place  no  mat- 
ter what  conditions  are  imposed  to  prevent  them — in  fact,  the 
more  stringent  the  conditions,  the  more  securely  Eusapia  is 
held,  the  better  are  the  results  obtained.  We  also  found  that 
the  greater  the  contact  between  Eusapia's  body  and  ours,  the 
more  forceful  the  phenomena,  and  the  sooner  do  they  set 
in.  This  agrees  with  Morselli's  observation.  He  also  noted 
this  fact.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  force  is  weak,  stringent 
control  seems  to  offset  phenomena — because  it  produces  an 
adverse  psychological  condition  in  Eusapia.  It  makes  her  irri- 
table and  suspicious,  and  phenomena  do  not  occur  in  conse- 
quence.    \i  they  fail  to  appear,  she  endeavors  to  stimulate 


324  Eusapia  Palladino 

their  production  by  lowering  the  lights,  until  almost  com- 
plete darkness  results,  by  greater  freedom  of  her  hands  and 
feet,  and  then,  finally,  if  the  phenomena  fail  to  appear,  by 
a  resort  to  fraud. 

This  again  was  illustrated  in  our  own  sittings.  In  the 
first  two  the  power  seemed  to  he  strong,  and  Eusapia  willing- 
ly submitted  to  any  test  conditions — good  phenomena  re- 
sulting notwithstanding.  On  the  contrary,  at  the  third 
seance,  when  she  felt  depressed  and  weary,  phenomena  failed 
to  appear  for  more  than  an  hour,  and  then  only  in  almost 
complete  darkness.  Finally,  Eusapia  attempted  fraud. 
Again,  at  the  eighth  seance  the  power  appeared  to  be  some- 
what weak,  and  nearly  two  hours  elapsed  before  any  im- 
portant phenomena  occurred.  We  had  asked  Eusapia  at  this 
sitting  if  we  might  tie  her  hands  and  feet  with  rope  (as  we 
had  on  several  previous  occasions).  She  became  exceedingly 
angry  and  refused  to  permit  any  tests  of  this  character.  In 
spite  of  the  fact  that  her  hands  and  feet  were  free,  however, 
phenomena  failed  to  appear,  as  we  have  seen.  Yet,  during 
our  ninth  sitting,  Eusapia  not  only  allowed  us  to  tie  her 
with  rope,  but  even  suggested  it  herself,  and,  in  spite  of  this 
elaborate  tying,  and  the  most  rigorous  control,  the  phenomena 
commenced  almost  immediately,  and  were  the  most  forceful 
and  convincing  we  had  seen  throughout  the  whole  series. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  production  of  good 
phenomena  depends,  not  upon  the  rigor  of  the  control,  but 
upon  the  mental  and  physical  wellbeing  of  the  medium.  If 
she  is  depressed,  down-spirited,  or  fatigued,  a  poor  seance  in- 
variably results.  Since  the  phenomena  appear  to  depend 
largely  upon  the  amount  of  reserve  energy  she  possesses,  this 
is  only  what  we  should  expect,  but  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  success  of  the  seance  seems  to  depend  even  more  upon 


Eusapla  Palladino  325 

her  mental  condition  than  upon  her  bodily  health.  If  she  is 
happy,  high-spirited,  elated  In  mind,  remarkable  manifesta- 
tions occur,  no  matter  what  the  precautions  taken. 

On  several  occasions  the  medium  had  had  some  domestic 
trouble  before  leaving  home  and  arrived  in  a  very  irritable 
frame  of  mind.  This  seemed  to  offset  the  production  of  the 
phenomena  far  more  than  her  physical  health.  The  degree 
of  the  rigidity  of  the  control  seemed  insignificant  compared 
with  It, 

All  the  Investigators  of  Eusapla  have  discovered  this  fact, 
and  have  found  It  excellent  policy  to  stimulate  the  production 
of  phenomena  by  entertaining  her  In  various  wa3^s.  Dinners, 
theater  parties,  carriage  drives,  etc.,  flattering  Eusapla,  and 
in  general  inducing  In  her  a  buoyant,  happy  frame  of  mind, 
will  do  miore  to  insure  a  good  seance  than  any  other  method 
that  has  so  far  been  devised.  We  tried  the  effect  of  these 
various  diversions,  and  usually  found  that  our  expectations 
were  fully  realized,  and  that  an  excellent  seance  resulted. 

We  did  not  find,  however — contrary  to  general  opinion, 
and  contrary  even  to  the  belief  of  Eusapla  herself — that  an 
Increase  in  the  number  of  the  circle  affected  the  results  bene- 
ficially— rather  the  reverse.  Thus,  we  obtained  excellent 
phenomena  during  our  first  three  seances,  when  Mr.  Feild- 
ing  and  I  alone  were  present,  controlling  the  medium,  and 
under  the  most  rigorous  test  conditions.  At  the  fourth 
seance,  at  her  request,  we  invited  no  less  than  five  additional 
investigators,  three  of  them  personal  friends  of  Eusapia,  to 
join  our  circle.  Eusapla  had  stated  to  us  that  the  "current" 
of  one  or  two  of  these  gentlemen  was  particularly  favorable 
and  would  be  sure  to  Induce  good  results.  Nevertheless,  the 
phenomena  were  weak  and  altogether  unsatisfactory,  and 
it  was  only  after  the  departure  of  all  the  sitters,  with  the 


326  Eusapia  Palladino 

exception  of  Professor  Galeotti  and  ourselves,  that  we  ob- 
tained phenomena  that  could  in  any  way  compare  with  those 
of  the  first  seances.  Again,  at  our  eighth  seance,  four  addi- 
tional sitters  were  present — besides  one  additional  investigator 
— who  had  come  on  from  England,  and  who  joined  us  after 
the  fourth  seance.  At  this  seance,  again,  the  phenomena  were 
comparatively  weak,  and  did  not  commence  until  a  longer 
period  had  elapsed  than  at  any  previous  sitting.  We  did 
not  find,  therefore,  that  mere  numbers  added  anything  to  the 
production  of  the  phenomena — even  when  those  attending 
were  personal  friends  of  the  medium  and  entirely  in  sym- 
pathy with  her  and  her  methods. 

We  seemed  to  find,  on  the  contrary,  that  physical  contact 
helped  the  production  of  phenomena,  and  that  forming  the 
"chain,"  as  she  expresses  it,  stimulated  their  production  on 
more  than  one  occasion.  Thus,  to  quote  one  instance,  we 
had  asked  Eusapia  to  fetch  one  of  the  musical  instruments 
out  of  the  cabinet  and  have  it  brought  on  to  the  seance  table. 
Her  hands  were  at  that  moment  free,  but  visible  to  us,  rest- 
ing upon  the  table.  She  lifted  her  hands,  and  made  gestures 
with  them  toward  the  curtain,  but  nothing  resulted.  After 
various  attempts  she  suddenly  cried:  "The  chain!  the 
chain!"  and  grasped  our  hands,  making  us  join  hands  all 
around  the  table.  After  a  few  seconds  she  again  raised  her 
hand  toward  the  curtains,  held  in  one  of  ours  and  again  made 
gestures.  This  time  the  instrument  inside  the  cabinet  came 
out  with  a  rush  and  landed  upon  the  seance  table. 

Usually  the  phenomena  are  more  abundant  on  the  left- 
hand  side  of  Eusapia  than  on  the  right,  but  this  only  agrees 
with  what  we  should  suppose  a  priori — inasmuch  as  Eusapia 
is  left-handed.  This  fact  is,  therefore,  open  to  the  double  in- 
terpretation ( I )  that  she  can  more  easily  produce  fraudulent 


1 


Eusapia  Palladino  327 

phenomena  with  the  left  hand,  and  (2)  that  the  "force," 
whatever  it  is,  is  more  abundant  on  the  left  side.  The  duty 
of  the  controller  on  that  side  is,  therefore,  the  more  respon- 
sible of  the  two,  and  in  our  seances  we  took  it  in  turn  to  con- 
trol this  side,  so  as  to  check  one  another's  sensations  of  con- 
tact, pressure,  and  observation.  In  every  case  our  conclu- 
sions agreed,  so  that  we  felt  in  the  end  morally  certain  that 
none  of  us  had  been  mistaken,  but  that  genuine  phenomena 
did,  in  fact,  occur  more  abundantly  on  this  side  than  on  the 
other. 

Of  course  the  question  will  be  asked — and  it  is  a  perfectly 
legitimate  question — if  Eusapia  can  produce  genuine  phenom- 
ena, why  is  it  that  she  ever  cheats  at  all  and  thus  leave  her- 
self open  to  attack  from  skeptical  critics  because  of  this  ?  To 
the  average  healthy  mind,  it  would  appear  a  paradox  that 
this  should  be  so,  and  the  majority  would  prefer  to  believe 
that  Eusapia  invariably  cheats,  and  that  all  the  phenomena 
occurring  in  her  presence  are  necessarily  fraudulent. 

I  can  quite  appreciate  this  attitude — one  that  I  myself  as- 
sumed before  attending  my  sittings.  I  could  not  easily  believe 
that  the  same  medium  could  be  both  fraudulent  and  genuine 
and  preferred  to  believe  in  the  former  alternative.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  I  could  not  account  for  many  of  the  phenomena 
recorded,  I  still  inwardly  believed  that  there  must  be  some 
error  somewhere,  which,  if  discovered,  would  serve  to  ex- 
plain the  facts.  Only  personal  sittings  can  remove  this  a 
priori  objection,  which  I  now  regard  as  worthless  and  con- 
clusively disproved  by  the  facts  in  the  case. 

The  question  still  remains,  however:  Why  does  Eusapia 
cheat?  I  believe  that  she  does  this  sometimes  simply  and 
solely  because  of  her  love  of  mischief.  She  delights  in  seeing 
onlookers  mystified  at  the  phenomena  produced  through  her 


328  Eusapla  Palladino 

mediumship,  and  when  she  1*3  in  a  trance  state  she  remembers 
very  little  of  what  takes  place,  and,  as  it  were,  misses  all 
the  fun !  But  when  she  is  in  a  normal  state  and  can  observe 
what  is  going  on,  she  will  try  fraudulently  to  produce  phe- 
nomena simply  and  solely  for  the  love  of  the  thing.  Still, 
I  admit  that  this  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  reason.  Some  of 
it  is  doubtless  premeditated  fraud — intended  to  deceive  her 
sitters,  and  which  she  would  pass  off  as  genuine  phenomena 
if  she  could.  But  I  am  convinced  that  the  great  majority  of 
her  fraudulent  phenomiena  are  produced  in  a  semitrance  con- 
dition, and  that  she  is  unaware  of  her  movements.  The  fact 
that  she  is  in  a  state  bordering  on  trance,  and  the  definite 
proof  that  amnesia  is  present  a  great  part  of  the  time,  allows 
us  to  assume  that  Eusapia  does  not  know  many  of  her  move- 
ments while  in  the  trance  state ;  and  the  statement  that  she 
feels  a  strong  desire  to  produce  the  phenomenon  with  her 
own  hand,  immediately  before  it  takes  place,  coupled  with 
the  convulsive  twitchings  of  her  hands  and  body  as  a  whole, 
at  the  moment  of  the  occurrence  of  the  phenomenon — all 
these  facts  point,  it  seems  to  me,  to  a  spasmodic  reflex  action 
on  the  part  of  the  medium  rather  than  to  deliberate  fraud. 
There  is  a  strong  impulse  to  produce  phenomena,  and,  if  she 
is  not  restrained,  she  will  endeavor  to  produce  them  in  a 
perfectly  normal  manner.  But  if  she  is  restrained,  genuine 
phenomena  will   result — as  we  repeatedly  ascertained. 

It  is  true  that  there  are  certain  suspicious  circumstances 
that  crop  up  from  time  to  time,  while  hardly  a  seance  elapses 
without  the  investigators  having  to  ascertain  by  the  sense 
of  touch,  and  by  that  of  sight,  that  they  are  in  reality  holding 
the  hands  of  the  medium.  Eusapia  insists  upon  more  or  less 
darkness,  especially  as  the  seance  proceeds,  when  the  more 
important  phenomena  are  witnessed.    Almost  invariably,  too, 


Eusapla  Palladino  329 

the  phenomena  originate  within  the  cahinct,  instead  of  out- 
side it.  But  rarely  do  phenomena  take  place  in  good  light, 
outside  the  curtains;  and  when  they  do  they  are  almost  in- 
variably telekinetic  in  character  and  of  a  simple  nature. 

W:y  this  cabinet?  Why  darkness?  It  must  be  admitted 
that  it  would  be  far  more  satisfactory  if  both  of  these  condi- 
tions were  done  away  with ;  but  we  must  submit  to  them 
with  as  good  grace  as  possible.  The  medium  says  that  the 
cabinet  is  necessary  in  order  to  concentrate  and  hold  the 
magnetic  fluid  which  emanates  from  her  person,  and  which 
the  spirits  use  for  the  production  of  the  phenomena.  Of 
course  this  may  be  due,  largely,  to  auto-suggestion.  All  me- 
diums use  cabinets,  and  Eusapia  thinks  she  must  have  one, 
too.  But  there  is  ground  for  supposing  that  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  truth  in  this  assumption.  In  the  first  place,  it  would 
seem  that  the  medium's  statement  must  be  given  some  weight 
— since  she  might  be  supposed  to  know  how^  she  feels  and 
what  conditions  stimulate  the  phenomena  better  than  out- 
siders possibly  can.  In  the  next  place,  we  have  frequently 
noticed  that  the  nearer  the  cabinet  curtains  the  medium  can 
get,  the  stronger  are  the  phenomena,  and  the  more  abundant 
and  convincing.  Most  of  the  phenomena  originate  from 
within  the  cabinet,  so  that,  on  any  hypothesis,  we  can  safely 
say  that  it  stimulates  their  production — no  matter  what  view 
we  hold  of  the  phenomena  themselves. 

All  mediums  insist  on  certain  "conditions,"  w^hich,  they 
assert,  are  necessary  for  the  production  of  their  phenomena. 
Darkness  is  one  of  these  necessary  conditions,  apparently,  for 
the  production  of  physical  manifestations.  Why  should  this 
be  so?  It  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  usually  insisted  upon 
for  the  reason  that  it  renders  possible  trickery  of  all  kinds. 
Fraud  is  easily  possible  in  the  dark — trickery  of  a  kind  which 


330  Eusapia  Palladino 

light  would  successfully  disclose  and  reveal.  But  why  should 
genuine  mediums  insist  upon  this  condition?  To  tell  the 
truth,  it  is  not  positively  known  why  this  should  be  so;  but 
various  theories  have  been  advanced,  and  numerous  mediums 
have  made  a  declaration,  stating  exactly  why  this  should  be 
the  case.  They  say  that  light  is  a  very  disruptive  agent,  pos- 
sessing fine,  yet  powerful  influences,  and  that,  when  one  is 
dealing  with  such  subtle  forces  and  conditions  as  one  is  in  a 
seance,  light  must  be  excluded,  for  the  reason  that  it  de- 
stroys the  subtle  forces  produced,  and  disintegrates  the  forms 
that  would  otherwise  materialize. 

Is  there  any  truth  in  this  assertion  ?  Is  there  any  warrant 
for  such  an  assumption?  To  tell  the  truth,  there  is.  Let 
us  take  a  simple  analogy,  which  has  often  been  used.  Sensi- 
tive plates,  used  in  photography,  cannot  be  exposed  to  the 
light  before  the  picture  is  taken ;  if  they  were,  they  would  be 
ruined,  and  the  photograph  spoiled.  Darkness  is  necessary, 
it  is  one  of  the  "conditions"  required  by  every  photographer 
for  obtaining  a  successful  photograph.  And  it  may  be  so 
here.  Light  rays  are  now  known  to  be  very  destructive  to 
some  forms  of  animal  life  and  to  human  protoplasm;  if  too 
long  continued,  they  are  extremely  energetic,  and  liable  to 
disintegrate  and  disrupt  any  excessively  fine  and  subtle  body. 
That  being  the  case,  we  are  certainly  entitled  to  take  into 
consideration  these  requests  of  the  medium,  and  we  may  con- 
sider her  statements  well  founded — provided  the  imposed 
conditions  do  not  permit  the  possibility  of  fraud.  And  I 
may  say,  that  in  Eusapia's  case,  this  was  nearly  always  pre- 
cluded by  the  amount  of  light  allowed.  In  her  case,  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  seance,  sufficient  light  was  always 
present  to  allow  us  clearly  to  see  her  hands,  as  well  as  feel 
them  in  ours,  resting  on  the  table.     Although  the  light  was 


Eusapla  Palladino  331: 

lowered,  it  was  at  no  time  completely  extinguished ;  and  dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  the  seance,  it  was  very  good,  allow- 
ing us  to  see  everything  in  the  room  with  the  greatest  clear- 
ness and  precision. 

While  the  lesser  phenomena  seem  to  be  directly  under  the 
control  of  Eusapia's  will,  the  more  important  phenomena 
are  certainly  dictated  and  are  brought  about  by  intelligences 
other  than  that  of  the  medium  herself.  Eusapia  believes 
that  "John  King,"  her  supposed  control,  officiates  at  her 
seances,  and  is  responsible  for  most  of  the  more  important 
phenomena. 

This  "John  King"  is  said  to  be  the  brother  of  Crookes' 
Katie  King,  and  to  have  been  Eusapia's  father  in  another 
existence.  It  is  John  who  speaks  when  Eusapia  is  in  her 
trance;  when  he  speaks  of  her  he  calls  her  "my  daughter," 
and  gives  advice  about  the  care  of  her  person  and  her  life. 
M.  Ochorowicz  thinks  this  John  Is  a  personality  created  in 
the  mind  of  Eusapia  by  the  union  of  a  certain  number  of 
impressions  collected  in  the  different  psychic  environments  in 
which  her  life  has  been  passed. 

Writing  of  Eusapia's  phenomena,  and  her  psychology,  Sig- 
nor  Angelo  Marzorati,  Editor  of  Luce  e  Omhra,  saj's: 

"During  the  first  part  of  them  (the  sittings),  she  keeps  up 
a  lively  conversation,  interspersed  with  witticisms,  when  she 
finds  that  she  is  among  friends.  She  rarely  goes  into  com- 
plete trance,  and  only  toward  the  end  of  the  sitting  is  she 
overtaken  by  a  semitrance,  characterized  by  an  incoherent 
babbling  and  a  strongly  marked  alteration  of  her  counte- 
nance; but  more  often  her  face  seems  to  acquire  a  glassy 
clearness,  as  though  something  extra  human  were  watching 
within  her.  Sometimes,  in  pursuit  of  the  phenomena,  by 
the  pale  gleam  which  came  from  the  antechamber,  I  caught 
the  watchful  keen  glance  of  the  witch,  and  had  the  impres- 


222  Eusapia  Palladino 

sion  that  of  all  those  present,  believers  or  skeptics,  she  was 
the  one  who  had  the  greatest  presence  of  mind;  that  she 
dominated  all  the  rest,  with  the  full  power  of  the  unknown 
which  is  within  and  about  us.  .  .  . 

"Although   rarely,   Palladino  falls   into   a  truly   feminine 
languor  and  calls  upon  her  John:  'Come,  my  father,  come!' 
Her  voice  then  trembles  with  a  strange  and  feeling  passion; 
one  feels  behind  the  curtain  the  presence  of  someone;  shadows 
flit  rapidly  between  the  curtains,  raising  the  outer  edges,  and 
sometimes  stopping  long  enough  for  us  to  see  the  characteris- 
tic features.     I  remember  also  clearly,  at  a  distance  of  two 
years,  the  diaphanous  figure  and  sweet  face  of  'Katie' ;  and 
I  also  remember  those  black  shadows  of  various  forms  and 
densities  which,  in  a  sitting  at  Genoa,  came  right  up  to  my 
face,  and  which  seemed  mere  empty  appearances,  for  they 
offered   no  solid   resistance.     I   remember  also  how  I   once 
stood  erect,  holding  both  Eusapia's  hands  firmly  on  the  table 
in  my  left  hand,  and  introduced  my  right  into  the  open- 
ing of  the  curtains,  where,  at  a  height  of  more  than  two 
yards,  which  my  stature  allowed  me  to  reach,  it  was  shaken 
by   a  vigorous   and   gigantic   hand.      Palladino   was   seated 
and   I   standing   and   no   deception   was   possible.  .  .  .  An- 
other  time,   while   I   was  standing   outside   the   chain,    iso- 
lated and   at  least  two  yards  from   Eusapia,   to   my  great 
surprise  an  electric  lamp  was  repeatedly  lighted,  of  which 
I  had  the  switch  in  my  pocket — I  say  repeatedly  because, 
being   placed    on    my   guard    by   the    first   lighting,    I   was 
a    more    careful    and    conscientious    observer    the    second 
time. 

"I  ought  to  say  that,  at  the  close  of  the  sitting,  Palladino 
is  exhausted,  done  up,  even  more  than  other  mediums.  She 
looks  round  savagely,  like  a  wounded  animal,  and  clutches 
at  the  objects  round  her,  as  though  attracted  by  them;  at 
other  times  she  has  fits  of  weeping,  of  which  she  feels  the 
effects  the  next  day.  Not  unfrequently,  when  in  this  state, 
she  is  impelled  to  simulate  a  few  phenomena,  but  in  so 
childish  a  manner  as  to  render  it  doubtful  whether  she  is 
aware  of  it.  .  .  ." 


Eusapia  Palladino  333 

Some  have  thought  that  they  noticed  that  Eusapia  pre- 
pared herself,  consciously,  or  unconsciously,  at  the  seance, 
by  diminishing  the  respiration — a  very  singular  thing.  At 
the  same  time  her  pulse  gradually  rises  from  88  to  120  pul- 
sations a  minute.  Is  this  a  practice  analogous  to  that  which 
the  fakirs  of  India  emploj',  or  a  simple  effect  of  the  emotions 
which,  before  every  seance,  Eusapia  experiences? — a  fact 
which  has  a  strong  tendency  to  convince  the  sitters,  but  is 
never  sure  of  the  production  of  the  phenomena. 

Eusapia  is  not  hypnotized ;  she  herself  enters  into  the 
trance  state  when  she  becomes  a  link  in  the  chain  of  hands. 
She  begins  to  sigh  deeply,  then  yawns  and  hiccoughs.  A 
series  of  varied  expressions  passes  over  her  face.  Sometimes 
it  takes  on  a  demoniacal  look,  accompanied  by  a  fitful  laugh 
(very  much  like  that  which  Gounod  gives  to  Mephistopheles 
in  the  opera  of  "Faust")  which  almost  always  precedes  an 
important  phenomenon.  Sometimes  her  face  flushes;  the  eyes 
become  brilliant  and  liquid,  and  are  opened  wide.  The  smile 
and  the  emotions  are  a  mark  of  the  erotic  ecstasy.  She  says 
"mio  caro"  ("my  dear"),  leans  her  head  upon  the  shoulder 
of  her  neighbor,  and  courts  caresses  when  she  believes  that 
he  is  sympathetic.  It  is  at  this  point  that  phenomena  are 
produced,  the  success  of  which  causes  her  agreeable  and  even 
voluptuous  thrills.  During  this  time  her  legs  and  her  arms 
are  in  a  state  of  marked  tension,  almost  rigid,  or  even  under- 
go convulsive  contractions.  Sometimes  a  tremor  goes  through 
her  entire  body. 

To  these  states  of  nervous  superactivity  succeeds  a  period 
of  depression,  characterized  by  an  almost  corpselike  pale- 
ness of  the  face  (which  is  frequently  covered  with  perspira- 
tion) and  an  almost  complete  inertia  of  her  limbs.  If  she 
lifts  her  hand,  it  falls  back  of  its  own  weight. 


334  Eusapia  Palladino 

During  the  trance  her  eyes  are  turned  up  and  only  the 
white  is  visible.  Her  presence  of  mind  and  her  general 
consciousness  are  diminished,  or  not  at  all  in  evidence.  She 
gives  no  reply,  or  if  she  does,  her  reply  is  retarded  by  ques- 
tions. Eusapia  has  no  recollection  of  what  has  taken  place 
during  the  seances,  except  for  states  of  mind  bordering  close 
on  those  of  her  normal  state ;  and,  consequently,  they  only 
relate,  as  a  general  thing,  to  phenomena  of  slight  intensity. 

In  order  to  aid  in  the  manifestations,  she  frequently  asks 
that  her  force  be  increased  by  putting  one  person  in  the 
chain.  It  has  frequently  happened  to  her  to  address  a  sym- 
pathetic spectator,  to  take  his  fingers  and  press  them  as  if  to 
draw  something  out  of  them,  then  push  them  abruptly  away, 
saying  that  she  has  enough  force. 

In  proportion  as  her  trance  increases,  her  sensibility  to 
light  increases.  A  sudden  light  causes  difficulty  in  her  breath- 
ing, rapid  beatings  of  her  heart,  an  hysterical  feeling,  gen- 
eral irritation  of  the  nerves,  pain  in  the  head  and  eyes  and 
a  trembling  of  the  whole  body,  with  convulsions — except 
when  she  herself  asks  for  light  (a  thing  which  frequently 
happens  to  her  when  there  are  interesting  verifications  to  be 
made  upon  the  subject  of  displaced  objects),  for  then  her 
attention  is  strongly  called  in  other  directions. 

She  is  in  constant  motion  during  the  active  period  of 
many  of  the  seances.  These  movements  may  be  attributed 
to  the  hysterical  crises  which  then  agitate  her;  but  they 
appear  to  be  necessary  to  the  production  of  the  phenomena. 
Every  time  that  a  movement  is  being  caused  at  a  distance 
she  imitates  it,  either  with  her  hands  or  with  her  feet,  and 
by  developing  a  much  stronger  force  than  would  be  neces- 
sary for  producing  the  movement  by  contact. 

During  and  after  the  levitations  of  the  table,  she  has  a 


Eusapia  Palladino  335 

feeling  of  pain  in  her  knees;  during  and  after  other  phe- 
nomena, in  her  elbows  and  all  through  her  arms. 

Here  is  what  she  herself  says  of  her  impressions  when  she 
wishes  to  produce  a  movement  at  a  distance.  She  suddenly 
experiences  an  ardent  desire  to  produce  the  phenomenon;  then 
she  has  a  feeling  of  numbness  and  the  gooseflesh  sensation 
in  her  fingers;  these  sensations  keep  increasing.  At  the  same 
time  she  feels  in  the  inferior  portion  of  the  vertebral  column 
the  flowing  of  a  current  which  rapidly  extends  into  her  arm 
as  far  as  her  elbow,  where  it  is  gently  arrested.  It  is  at  this 
point  that  the  phenomenon  takes  place. 

It  would  appear  to  me  that  the  above  statement  explains, 
in  part  at  least,  much  of  Eusapia's  fraud.  Here  there  is  the 
wish,  amounting  to  a  strong  desire,  to  produce  the  phenome- 
non by  normal  means;  and  this  desire  would  naturally  find, 
or  attempt  to  find,  motor  expression,  in  the  release  of  one 
hand,  and  in  the  shooting  out  of  that  hand  automatically, 
toward  the  object.  These  desires  doubtless  produce  abortive 
muscular  twatchings  and  movements,  which,  by  a  hyper- 
critical investigator,  might  be  interpreted  as  attempts  on  her 
part  to  release  a  hand  or  a  foot,  and  with  it  produce  the 
phenomenon  fraudulently.  But  we  repeatedly  found  that  if 
she  were  checked  from  doing  so,  and  the  hand  or  the  foot 
securely  held,  genuine  phenomena  would  result  and  the  ob- 
ject be  moved  by  an  exteriorization  of  motor  force.  It  would 
find  actuality  just  as  (to  use  an  analogy)  a  visualized  thought 
might,  under  certain  conditions,  become  externalized  in  the 
mind  as  a  full-blown  hallucination — having  all  the  appear- 
ance of  reality. 

Whatever  the  interpretation  of  the  facts,  however,  I  re- 
gard it  as  certain  that  they  are  established,  and  that  they 


33^  Eusapia  Palladino 

should,  in  consequence,  be  studied  by  men  and  by  societies 
interested  in  natural  knowledge.  It  need  hardly  be  pointed 
out  that  if  but  one  or  two  of  the  facts  asserted  to  occur  at 
Eusapia's  seances  ultimately  prove  to  be  facts,  they  are  of 
the  utmost  possible  importance  to  science — necessitating,  as 
they  would,  reconstructions  and  enlargements  of  the  present- 
day  view,  upon  an  unprecedented  scale.  Nevertheless,  the 
facts,  I  am  fully  convinced,  do  occur ;  and  that  is  the  opinion, 
also,  of  a  large  number  of  scientific  men  in  Europe  who  have 
studied  Eusapia  for  a  number  of  years.  I  think,  therefore, 
that  Eusapia  should  be  brought  to  America,  and  studied 
here,  by  a  commission  of  scientific  investigators — as  she  has 
been  studied  in  the  past  in  England,  France,  Italy,  Russia, 
and  elsewhere.  Eusapia  is  yet  alive,  and  it  is  not  too  late 
to  reverify,  or  to  discredit,  the  facts.  Fresh  sittings  are 
constantly  being  held,  and  each  body  of  investigators  leaves 
under  the  distinct  impression  that  it  has  seen  genuine  physi- 
cal phenomena  of  a  supernormal  character.  Should  not  these 
opinions  be  checked,  and  the  argument  settled  one  way  or 
the  other  before  Eusapia  dies?  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  think 
the  case  has  practically  been  settled — for  all  unbiased  students 
of  the  records ;  but  further  and  more  conclusive  tests  should 
doubtless  be  performed,  since  it  is  impossible  to  establish  too 
thoroughly  facts  which  are  of  such  great  moment  to  science. 
It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  sufficient  money  and  sufficient  in- 
terest will  soon  be  raised  in  this  country  to  bring  Eusapia 
to  America,  and  to  study  her  by  means  of  a  long  series  of 
experiments;  and,  when  once  the  facts  have  been  established 
(as  I  feel  certain  they  would  be),  to  begin  a  scientific  investi- 
gation— physical,  mental,  and  possibly  spiritual — of  the  me- 
dium and  her  phenomena.  Certain  it  is  that  the  present  state 
of  things  is  a  disgrace  to  science — particularly  in  a  country 


Eusapla  Palladino  ^37 

which  boasts  of  its  wealth,  its  progress,  and  its  openminded- 
ness!  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote,  in  this  connection,  the 
words  of  Professor  Sidgwick,  who,  in  his  first  presidential 
address  before  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  delivered 
July  17,   1882,  said: 

"Why  form  a  Society  for  Psychical  Research  at  all  at 
this  time — including  in  its  scope  not  merely  the  phenomena 
of  thought  reading,  but  also  those  of  clairvoyance  and  mes- 
merism, and  the  mass  of  obscure  phenomena  commonly 
known  as  Spiritualistic?  Well,  in  answering  this,  the  first 
question,  I  shall  be  able  to  say  something  upon  which  I 
hope  we  all  agree — meaning  by  'we,'  not  merely  those  who 
are  in  this  room,  but  we  and  the  scientific  world  outside; 
and  as,  unfortunately,  I  have  but  few  observations  to  make 
on  which  so  much  agreement  can  be  hoped  for,  it  may  be 
well  to  bring  this  into  prominence — namely,  that  we  are  all 
agreed  that  the  present  state  of  things  is  a  scandal  to  the 
enlightened  age  in  which  we  live.  That  the  dispute  as  to 
the  reality  of  these  marvelous  phenomena — of  which  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  scientific  importance,  if 
only  a  tenth  part  of  what  has  been  alleged  by  generally 
credible  witnesses  could  be  shown  to  be  true — I  say  it  is  a 
scandal  that  the  dispute  as  to  the  reality  of  these  phenomena 
should  still  be  going  on — that  so  many  competent  witnesses 
should  have  declared  their  belief  in  them,  that  so  many 
others  should  be  profoundly  interested  in  having  the  ques- 
tion determined,  and  yet  that  the  educated  world  as  a  body 
should  still  be  simply  in  the  attitude  of  incredulity." 

Such,  it  appears  to  me,  is  the  attitude  of  the  scientific 
world  with  regard  to  Eusapia  Palladino  and  her  phenomena. 
It  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that  the  time  will  not  be  far  dis- 
tant when  this  "scandalous"  state  of  things  will  no  longer 
exist;  when  scientific  men  will  consent  to  investigate  these 
phenomena;  and  then,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  Eusapia  Palladino 


33^  Eusapia  Palladino 

will  be  ranked,  not  as  a  vulgar  impostor,  but  as  a  rarely 
gifted  individual,  possessing  powers  worthy  of  the  deep- 
est study  and  respect;  as  a  delicate  and  sensitive  piece  of 
organic  machinery,  which  should  be  guarded  and  cared  for 
with  the  utmost  kindness  and  consideration. 


APPENDIX 

In  the  Annals  of  Psychical  Science,  for  July-September, 
1909,  Mrs.  Finch — its  late  editor — published  a  "letter"  bit- 
terly attacking  Eusapia  and  her  phenomena.  Mrs.  Finch  as- 
serts that  very  few  of  them  are  genuine;  that  most  of  her 
sitters  are  simply  deluded  or  "glamoured"  by  her  mere  pres- 
ence; that  she  succeeds  in  casting  a  sort  of  spell  over 
her  sitters,  merely  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  she  is  a 
woman!  She  accuses  her  of  "erotic  tendencies";  and  con- 
cludes that  no  evidence  is  of  any  value  in  her  case  unless 
supported  by  photography. 

I  took  occasion  to  reply  to  this  letter  at  the  time — as  I 
deemed  it  not  only  misleading,  but  totally  false  in  implica- 
tion and  in  fact;  and  I  reprint  here  what  I  then  said: 

A  REPLY  TO  MRS.  FINCH'S  LETTER  ON 
EUSAPIA  PALLADINO 

By  Hereward  Carrington 

Mrs.  Finch's  extraordinary  letter  in  the  July-September 
^Annals  deserves  more  than  a  passing  mention.  To  many 
minds,  doubtless,  the  letter  answers  itself,  and,  reading  be- 
tween the  lines,  one  can  quite  easily  surmise  some  of  the  mo- 
tives which  prompted  the  writing  of  so  scathing  a  criticism. 
Nevertheless,   it  may  be  well  to  indicate  how  baseless  are 

339 


340  Eusapia  Palladino 

the  assertions  contained  in  this  contribution  to  psychical  re- 
search ;  and  to  examine  her  letter  in  some  detail. 

Mrs.  Finch  is  surely  unaware  of  the  implications  of  her 
theory  regarding  Eusapia's  phenomena;  for  if  she  were  aware 
of  it,  she  would  surely  not  advance  it — at  least  in  public. 
Certain  it  is  that  Eusapia  has  been  studied  more  carefully, 
more  exactly,  and  by  a  greater  number  of  eminent  men  than 
any  other  physical  medium  who  has  ever  lived.  With  very 
few  exceptions  (which  can  easily  be  explained)  every  one 
of  these  men  has  been  converted  to  a  belief  in  the  reality 
of  her  phenomena.,  Now,  if  it  were  possible  to  show  that 
after  all  these  years  of  work,  and  such  a  vast  amount  of  re- 
search; if,  in  spite  of  all  the  affirmative  testimony  in  her 
favor,  nothing  but  fraud  had  been  practised,  it  would  deal 
the  physical  phenomena  such  a  crushing  blow  that  they  would 
(probably)  never  recover  from  the  shock.  If  nothing  super- 
normal really  exists,  if  no  genuine  phenomena  occur  in  her 
presence,  then  surely,  the  case  for  their  occurrence,  else- 
where, would  be  finally  and  irretrievably  ruined — for  in  no 
other  case  does  the  mass  and  excellence  of  the  testimony  in 
their  favor  equal  this.  It  may  fairly  be  said  that  the  case 
for  the  physical  phenomena  stands  or  falls  with  this  case  of 
Eusapia  Palladino. 

Mrs.  Finch  asserts  that  one  faint  light,  witnessed  at  one 
seance,  was  the  only  genuine  phenomenon  ever  seen  by  her 
in  Eusapia's  presence.  In  view  of  our  own  experience  with 
this  medium,  I  should  be  strongly  inclined  to  doubt  this  state- 
ment. Where  are  the  records  of  these  seances?  Who  else 
attended  the  sittings  attended  by  Mrs.  Finch?  And  where 
is  their  negative  evidence?  Statements  of  this  sweeping  char- 
acter must  be  supported  my  proof;  we  do  not  want  a  mere  ex 
cathedra  pronouncement  upon   her  phenomena.     Besides,  it 


Eusapia  Palladino  341 

must  be  remembered  that  this  is  a  mere  statement  of  one  per- 
sons experience;  and  others  may  have  had  experiences  which 
differ  from  it.  As  the  reports  show,  their  experiences  have 
differed ;  and  no  one  can  read  the  published  reports  without 
seeing  that  Mrs.  Finch's  explanation — simple  fraud — is  ludi- 
crously inadequate  to  account  for  all  the  facts. 

What,  then,  is  the  root  and  basis  of  Mrs.  Finch's  animos- 
ity? It  would  seem  that  this  is  purely  personal — a  strong 
antipathy  toward  Eusapia — which,  I  may  add,  is  equally 
shared  by  Eusapia.  Mrs.  Finch  objects  to  her  phenomena  be- 
cause, forsooth,  she  objects  to  the  woman  herself!  She  is 
vulgar,  dishonest,  etc.  On  these  grounds,  and  because  of 
them,  Mrs.  Finch  cannot  believe  in  her  phenomena.  One 
can  only  say:  "How  like  a  woman!"  {Some  women.)  For 
science,  of  course,  such  reasons  are  ridiculous.  For  science, 
it  makes  not  a  particle  of  difference  whether  a  medium  is 
ugly  or  beautiful,  whether  she  washes  her  neck,  whether 
she  is  vulgar  or  obscene  in  her  speech  or  actions;  she  may 
be  all  this,  and  a  trickster,  a  fraud,  and  absolutely  mad. 
The  question  is:  Do  physical  objects  move  without  contact 
in  her  presence?  That  is  the  only  point  to  be  settled.  No 
matter  how  honest  a  medium  may  be,  we  always  have  to 
assume,  for  evidential  purposes,  that  she  is  fraudulent,  and 
conduct  our  experiments  with  the  idea  of  debarring  this  pos- 
sibility. Conversely,  the  medium  may  be  as  big  a  fraud  as 
you  please,  but  if  the  conditions  of  the  experiment  prove 
fraud  to  have  been  impossible,  then  we  shall  have  to  assume 
that  the  phenomena  are  genuine.  The  personality  of  the 
medium,  in  other  words,  should  be  quite  discounted,  and 
should  not  be  allowed  to  enter  at  all  into  the  discussion,  or 
to  the  settlement  of  the  main  problem:  Are  her  phenomena 
genuine? 


342  Eusapia  Palladino 

Mrs.  Finch  asserts  that  the  few  scant  phenomena  of  a 
genuine  character  are  "hidden  in  a  quagmire  of  deliberate 
fraud."  This  is  precisely  the  reverse  of  my  own  experience. 
I  found  that  but  a  very  small  percentage  were  fraudulent; 
and  that  the  vast  bulk  of  the  phenomena  were  genuine.  This 
is  also  Professor  Morselli's  experience — who  estimates  that 
ten  per  cent,  of  her  phenomena  (at  the  outside)  might  pos- 
sibly be  fraudulent.  Besides,  if  Mrs.  Finch  was  so  assured 
that  E.  P.  was  nothing  but  a  clever  trickster,  and  that  her 
phenomena  were  fraudulent,  why  did  she  continually  pub- 
lish accounts  of  her  seances  in  the  Annalsf  I  think  that 
some  of  us  would  like  an  explanation  of  that  fact. 

Of  course  it  is  very  Important  to  study  the  mentality  of 
the  sitters  at  a  spiritualistic  seance.  When  such  analyses  are 
made,  what  do  they  reveal  ?  Usually,  that  the  bulk  of  the 
sitters  are  so  credulous  that  they  are  totally  incapable  of  de- 
tecting fraud — had  such  existed — and  that  they  accept  every- 
thing presented  in  the  name  of  Spiritualism.  Among  them 
may  be  found  a  sprinkling  of  skeptics  or  genuine  investiga- 
tors. Now,  when  it  comes  to  a  question  of  fraud  and  its  de- 
tection, we  should,  of  course,  be  guided,  almost  entirely, 
by  what  the  latter  class  has  to  say  about  the  phenomena — as 
the  former  is  probably  very  easily  suggestible,  and  see  all 
they  are  supposed  to  see,  and  more.  Of  two  descriptions  of 
a  phenomenon,  also,  we  should  select  the  less  marvelous. 
All  that  being  granted,  the  question  arises:  Who  are  to  be 
trusted?  Whose  word  is  to  be  taken  in  a  question  of  this 
character? 

The  consensus  of  opinion  is,  I  think,  that  conjurers,  or 
scientists  thoroughly  familiar  with  conjuring,  are  the  best 
judges;  and  it  was  for  that  very  reason  that  our  special  com- 
mittee— Messrs.  Feilding,  Baggally,  and  myself — were  asked 


Eusapia  Palladino  343 

to  undertake  the  investigation.  If  any  of  us  had  been  sug- 
gestible and  easily  "glamoured,"  is  it  not  probable — nay,  cer- 
tain— that  we  should  have  been  similarly  affected,  at  least  to 
some  extent,  by  other  mediums,  mostly  w^omen,  with  whom 
we  had  obtained  sittings  in  the  past?  Speaking  personally, 
I  may  say  that  never  once  had  I  seen  anything  but  trickery, 
upon  the  detection  of  which  I  bent  my  whole  energies.  Some 
of  these  mediums,  I  may  add,  were  far  younger  and  more 
"beautiful"  than  Eusapia,  whom,  I  think  I  am  safe  in  saying, 
none  of  us  ever  thought  of  for  a  moment  as  anything  more 
than  a  "case" — and  at  first,  possibly,  a  clever  trickster.  On 
no  occasion  did  we  ever  detect  any  such  "erotic  tendencies"  as 
Mrs.  Finch  describes — and  as  other  authors,  too,  have  re- 
marked. Not  the  slightest  symptoms  were  ever  noticed  by 
any  of  us,  I  am  safe  to  say.  Eusapia  did  not  touch  us  in 
any  close  manner  until  the  fifth  or  sixth  seance.  Besides, 
none  of  us  were  in  any  sense  emotional  men ;  precisely  the 
reverse.  Further,  as  I  said  before,  how  was  it  that  no  one 
of  us  had  ever  been  similarly  affected  by  any  other  medium 
with  whom  we  had  ever  sat?  Speaking  personally,  I  may 
say  that  I  have  sat  for  hours  and  hours  with  mediums  alone 
and  in  the  dark — and  never  once  did  I  feel  any  peculiar 
symptoms — never  once  was  I  influenced  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree; never  once  did  I  see  anything  but  trickery;  never  was 
there  a  hallucination!  (See  my  report  on  "Lily  Dale,"  Pro- 
ceedings Amer.  S.  P.  R.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  1-119.) 

The  introduction  into  this  discussion  of  stories  of  what 
Eusapia  did  when  she  was  i6  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
the  problem  before  us.  As  I  have  said  before,  the  sole  ques- 
tion for  science  is:  Can  she  move  objects  without  contact? 
That  is  the  question  to  be  settled,  and  it  has  nothing  more 
to  do  with  her  past  career  than  with  the  spots  on  the  sun. 


344  Eusapia  Palladino  ' 

One  can  obviously  see,  here,  that  the  criticism  has  degen- 
erated from  a  scientific  to  a  personal  one.  Mrs.  Finch  is 
totally  wrong  in  saying  that  "nothing  of  an  indisputably 
genuine  nature  occurs  in  the  light."  That  may  have  been  her 
experience;  it  certainly  M^as  not  ours.  As  our  Report  abun- 
dantly shows,  a  large  number  of  phenomena — and  even  the 
\cry  best  phenom.ena — occurred  in  a  good  light — light  suf- 
ficiently good  to  read  the  small  print  of  a  Baedeker.  What 
is  one  to  say,  therefore?  Obviously,  that  Mrs.  Finch's 
statements  are  totally  incorrect,  and  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  genuine  phenomena  do  occur  in  light  sufficient  to 
enable  us  to  see  the  whole  of  the  medium's  body  quite 
clearly. 

Mrs.  Finch  speaks  of  "the  medium's  body  being  in  perpet- 
ual movement — her  hands,  arms,  legs,  and  body  are  scarcely 
ever  still  when  phenomena  are  being  produced.  .  .  ."  Noth- 
ing of  the  sort  occurred  in  our  seances.  At  first — particularly 
in  bad  seances — a  certain  amount  of  movement  and  restless- 
ness was  noted,  I  admit  (who  could  sit  for  three  or  four 
hours  without  moving  a  muscle?),  but  in  the  best  seances 
there  was  scarcely  any  movement  at  all.  Note  this:  the  bet- 
ter the  phenomena,  the  less  the  movement.  Precisely  the  re- 
verse of  this  should  be  the  case  on  Mrs.  Finch's  theory.  But 
I  must  emphatically  insist  that,  during  the  best  seances — and 
particularly  during  the  production  of  the  best  phenomena — 
Eusapia  scarcely  moved  a  muscle,  but  submitted  herself  to  the 
very  fullest  control,  and  her  hands  and  feet  were  held  im- 
passively in  ours.  There  was  no  attempt  at  movement,  far 
less  at  substitution,  as  our  Report  will  show.  Our  experi- 
ence on  this  point,  therefore,  formally  and  explicitly  con- 
tradicts that  of  Mrs.  Finch,  and  shows  it  to  be  quite  incorrect 
from  the  point  of  view  of  fact. 


Eusapia  Palladino  345 

Mrs.  Finch  asserts  that  Eusapia  selects  her  controllers  with 
great  care — choosing  those  whom  she  can  influence — and  that 
these  sitters  are  consequently  incapable  of  a  trustworthy 
report  of  the  existing  control.  Now  as  to  the  first  point, 
everyone  knows  this  is  absolutely  false;  Eusapia  does  not 
choose  her  sitters,  but  the  experimenters  control  her  them- 
selves. Occasionally,  she  asks  that  certain  sitters  change 
places,  that  a  new  control  be  established,  e.g.,  in  order  to 
supply  a  better  "current."  But  this  is  comparatively  rare, 
and  the  request  is  not  always  granted.  Certain  it  is  that 
Eusapia  could  have  had  no  choice  in  our  first  three  sittings, 
since  only  two  of  us  were  present!  As  to  our  being  partic- 
ularly suggestible,  I  should  like  to  ask  the  mediums — men 
and  women — with  whom  we  had  previously  sat,  whether 
they  considered  us  so !  I  think  our  previous  records  in  psychic 
experimentation  would  answer  that  question. 

Now  a  word  as  to  the  value  of  photographs.  ]\Irs.  Finch 
contends  that  "no  man's  account  of  her  phenomena  should 
be  accepted — no  matter  who  he  may  be — unless  he  can  cor- 
roborate his  account  with  photographs."  In  the  first  place, 
these  phenomena  have  often  been  so  corroborated.  Photo- 
graphs of  levitations  and  other  phenomena  have  been  taken 
time  and  time  again,  and,  so  far  as  photographs  can  prove 
anything,  these  phenomena  have  been  proved  thereby.  But 
I  must  contend  (in  direct  opposition  to  Mrs.  Finch)  that 
photography  can  very  rarely  afford  any  valuable  corroboration 
whatever.  Generally,  it  is  quite  useless  for  establishing  the 
reality  of  a  phenomenon — though  it  might  often  disclose 
fraud.  It  can  prove  what  is  there,  but  not  what  is  not  there. 
I  have  insisted  upon  this  several  times  before,  in  discussing 
these  phenomena.  Thus,  in  reviewing  M.  Flammarion's 
book,   Mysterious   Psychic   Forces,   in    the   Journal,   Amer. 


34^  Eusapia  Palladino 

S.  P.  R.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  471-gi,  long  before  I  had  had  sit- 
tings with  E.  P.,  I  wrote: 

".  .  .  All  photographs  are  open  to  this  fundamental  ob- 
jection. They  give  us  a  picture,  merely,  of  what  is  actually 
happening  at  any  one  time,  without  telling  us  the  preceding 
actions  of  the  medium  and  others  present,  leading  up  to  that 
event.  .  .  .  The  worthlessness  of  photographic  records  is  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that  on  page  113  of  J  round  the  World 
zvith  a  Magician  and  a  Juggler,  there  is  a  photograph  of  a 
table  levitated  by  fraudulent  means — it  is  impossible  to  see 
how." 

This,  It  may  be  added,  is  also  the  opinion  of  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge,  who  wrote   {Proceedings  S.  P.  R.,  Vol.  X,  p.  23)  : 

*Tor  myself,  I  would  prefer  to  trust  my  own  observation 
rather  than  any  amount  of  second-hand  information,  fortified 
by  the  assurance  of  any  number  of  Kodaks." 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  photographs,  so  far  from  furnish- 
ing final  and  conclusive  evidence — as  Mrs.  Finch  contends 
is  the  case — are  practically  worthless  for  establishing  the 
reality  or  supernormal  character  of  these  phenomena.  So 
far  from  being  the  best — and  in  fact  the  only — means  of 
satisfactorily  proving  the  reality  of  the  phenomena,  it  is  a 
totally  inadequate  method — one  open  to  many  objections,  from 
the  evidential  point  of  view,  and  proving  nothing,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  when  successful! 

A  word  more  and  I  have  done.  Mrs.  Finch  has  obviously 
gone  out  of  her  way  to  attack  a  woman  who  can  neither  read 
nor  write,  and  who  is,  consequently,  unable  to  defend  her- 
self in  a  controversy  of  this  character.  Those  who  know  her 
should,  therefore,  enter  the  lists  for  her,  and  fight  her  bat- 
tles.    Mrs.  Finch  has  made  the  attack  a  personal  one,  and 


Eusapia  Palladino  347 

has  thereby  laid  herself  open  for  Just  such  replies  as  this — 
and  indeed  far  more  severe  ones  which  I  trust  may  be  forth- 
coming from  other  quarters.  Moreover,  she  has  quite  aban- 
doned the  scientific  attitude  in  the  matter,  and  thus  forever 
after  denied  herself  the  right  to  a  serious  hearing  in  all 
matters  scientific  or  psychic.  The  scientific  problem  is  again 
and  again  mixed  with  and  governed  by  the  personal  animus, 
as  is  shown  over  and  over  again,  throughout  her  article.  I 
regret  to  say  that  this  attitude  has  also  been  adopted  (un- 
consciously, doubtless)  by  other  investigators,  as  her  quota- 
tion from  Professor  Morselli  shows.  The  question  we  should 
ask  ourselves  is  not,  "Can  a  soul  so  pure  breathe  in  so  foul 
an  atmosphere?"  but  does  it?  If  the  facts  prove  that  to  be 
the  case,  we  shall  have  to  accept  them,  no  matter  whether 
we  care  to  or  not.  It  is  a  question  of  fact;  not  of  emotion 
and  belief.  The  Inanity  of  the  greater  part  of  "spirit  com- 
munications" would  seem  to  prove  that  the  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  next  world  are  little  better  than  lunatics. 
Yet,  as  Dr.  Hyslop  has  so  well  pointed  out  and  insisted  upon : 

"We  have  to  accept  the  life  to  come,  if  it  be  a  fact,  with- 
out any  ability  to  escape  it,  and  its  degenerated  nature  would 
not  affect  the  evidence  for  the  fact  of  it.  Its  being  a  mad- 
house or  an  asylum  for  idiots  would  not  weaken  the  evidence 
for  its  existence." 

The  majority  are  incapable  of  divorcing  their  sentiments 
from  their  judgment,  and  allow  the  mind  to  be  swayed  by 
the  emotions.  Such  persons  should  not  investigate  psychical 
matters:  they  are  totally  unfitted  to  be  scientific  investigators. 
Only  those  who  are  prepared  to  admit  the  facts,  no  matter 
where  they  may  lead,  and  who  feel  no  personal  interest  In 
the  problem,  one  way  or  the  other — these  are  the  only  per- 


348  Eusapla  Palladino 

sons  who  should  devote  themselves  seriously  to  psychic  In- 
vestigation  and   research. 

In  conclusion,  I  w^ish  to  say  that  this  reply  does  not  in- 
volve either  of  my  colleagues,  or  the  opinion  of  anyone  but 
myself.  However  certain  I  might  feel  that  I  have  their 
moral  support  in  this  reply,  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly 
understood  that  my  reply  to  Mrs.  Finch  comes  entirely  from 
myself,  and  is  prompted  solely  by  the  desire  to  defend  an 
absent  and  helpless  woman,  who,  in  spite  of  adverse  criticism, 
possesses  many  good  qualities,  and  a  more  straightforward 
and  honest  soul,  perhaps — in  spite  of  her  petty  trickery— 
than  some  of  her  scoffers  and  critics. 


I 

1 


INDEX 


Accordion  playing,  46 
Action  at  a  distance,  314-15 
Aggazzotti,  Dr.,  100-108 
Aksakof,  Count,  29,  274,  275 
Arm,  doubling  of,  117 
Armelin,  M.,  70-71 
Ascensi,  M.,  28,  29 
Astral  double,  theory  of,  268, 

270 
Audenino,  Dr.,  89-100 
Auto-hypnosis,  307 

Baggally,  W.  W.,  152,  153,  157, 

168-239 
Barisso,  M.,  139-140 
Barzini,  Dr.,  84,  85,  86 
Bell  incident,  228-231 
Blech,  M.,  61,  62-67 
Bottazzi,     Professor,     109-118, 

138,  188,  190,  191-192 
Bozzano,  Dr.,  145-147 
Breeze,  cold.     See  Cold  Breeze. 
Buffem,  Professor,  30 

Cabinet,  construction   of,   158- 

159 
reasons  for,  329-330 
Carrara,  Mme.  Paola,  20,    21- 

27 
Carreras,  Dr.  H.,  75 
Chalet  incident,  48 


Chiaia,  Professor,  28,  59,  66 
Ciolfi,  M.,  28 

Clairvoyance,  question  of,  309 
Clay,  impressions  in,  66 
Clinical  study  of  the  medium, 

280-281,  304-309 
Cold   breeze   at    seances,   198^ 

199,  205 
Collective  consciousness,  theory 

of,  271 
Communications,    question    of, 

308-309 
Consciousness,    collective.     See 

Collective, 
modifications  of,  307 
Control  of  medium,  question  of, 

155-157,  159-167 
Courtier,  Jules,  129-134 
Crawford,  Misses,  213 
Crookes,  Sir  William,  6,  41-44 
Curie,  Mme.,  129,  130,  131 

Dariex,  Dr.,  57,  58,  61 
Darkness,  reasons  for,  329-331 
d'Arsonval,  M.,  129,  132 
Davis,  Andrew  Jackson,  7 
Debierne,  Dr.,  130 
de  Fontenay,  G.,  62,  63-67,  275 
de  Grammont,  Count,  57,  75 
de  Rochas,  Colonel  Albert,  34, 

ST,  58,  268,  269 


349 


350 


Index 


de  Siemiradski,  M.,  33 
de  Watterville,  Baron,  57 
Dissolving  hands,  115 
Doubling  of  the  medium's  arm, 

117,  255-256 
Dreams,  question  of,  308 
DuPrel,  Dr.  Charles,  29 
Dynamic  theory,  275 
Dynamometer  test,  79 

Ectenic  force,  theory  of,  271 
Electrical  girls,  301 
Electroscope,  discharge  of,  319 
Ermacora,  Professor,  29 
Evil  spirits,  276 
Exteriorization  of  motivity,  268 
Externalization  of  motivity.  See 

Exteriorization. 
Externalization    of    sensibility, 

309 

Feilding,    Hon.    Everard,    152, 

153,  157,  168-239 
Finch,    Mrs.    L.    I.,   replyj  to, 

239-248 
Finzi,  M.,  30,  31,  32 
Flammarion,   Camille,  20,  63- 

67,  71-72,  276,  277 
Flournoy,  Prof.  Th.,  202-203 
Fluid,  theory  of,  267 
Fiuidic  double,  theory  of,  268, 

270 
Foa,  Dr.  Charles,  100-108 
Foa,  Prof.  Pio,  101-108 
Fraud,    question    of,    182-184, 

188-189,  206-207,  244-266, 

345 
Fraud,    reasons    for,    327-329, 

335 


Galeotti,     Professor,     109-118, 

188,  190,  191-192,  232 
Gasparin,  M.,  267 
Geley,  Dr.,  274 
Gerosa,  Professor,  29 
Gibson,  Mr.,  195,  196 
Gigli,  M.,  28,  29 
Grasset,  Dr.,  271 

Hall,  Gilman,  1 18-126 

Hallucination  and  photography, 
62 

Hallucination,  theory  of,  240- 
244,  286,  287 

Hartmann,  E.  von,  274 

Hands,  dissolving..  See  Dis- 
solving. 

Herlitzka,  Dr.,  100-108 

Hindu  fakirs,  241 

Hodgson,  Dr.  R.,  I,  33,  51-57 

Home,  D.  D.,  5,  6,  10,  41-44 

Hutton,  Mrs.  233,  235-238 

Hyperaesthesia,  318-319 

Hypnosis,  207 

Hyslop,  Dr.  J.  H.,  347 

Idealistic  theory  of  phenomena, 
272,  273 

Illusions  vs.  Hallucinations, 
286-287,  343 

Imoda,  Dr.,  89-100,  319 

Independent  writing.  See  Writ- 
ing. 

Intermediary,  vital,  theory  of, 
300 

John  King,  24,  331 

Johnson,  Miss  Alice,  33, 53, 152, 

^53 


Index 


3S-^ 


Key  incident,  49-50 

Laboratory,  psychical,  require- 
ments for,  51 

Language  unknown  to  the  medi- 
um, spoken  by  phantom, 
284 

Le  Bocain,  M.,  71 

LeBon,  Dr.,  69-70 

Left-handedness,  transference 
of,  279 

Levitation  of  table,  definition 
of,  168 

Levy,  Arthur,  68,  69 

Life,  nature  of,  297 

Light,  amount  of,  168 

Lodge,  Sir  OHver,  33,  38-51, 
52,  272,  273,  297 

Lombroso,  Cesare,  28-29,  35, 
89-100,  137,  267,  278-281, 
304-306 

Lucidity,  question  of,  309 

Luminous  paint,  as  a  test,  265 

Mangin,    M.    Marcel,    61,   69, 

271 
Marzorati,  Angelo,  331-332 
Maskelyne,  John  Nevil,  53 
Materialism,  14,  289-291 
Maxwell,  Dr.  J.,  17,  55-57,  57- 

58,  271 
Medium,    psychological    condi- 
tion of.     Set  Psychological 
Condition. 
Meeson,  Albert,  169 
Mind  and  body,  connection  of, 

293-296 
Moody,   Dr.   Herbert  R.,   126- 
129 


Morselli,  Prof.  Enrico,  72,  73,^ 

74,  75-89*   I35»   136,   138, 

145,149,150,250,251,277, 

278,  306-309 
Moses,  William  Stainton,  10 
Mucchi,  Dr.,  94,  97-100 
Myers,  F.  W.  H.,  33,  38-50,  52, 

53,  55,  274 

Objections  to   phenomena,    12, 

13,  14-18 
Ochorowicz,  J.,  33,  34,  36-38, 

38-50,  52,  268,  317-318 

Perovsky  -  Petrovo-Solovovo, 

Count,  54,  55 
Personifications,     question     of, 

308 
Personnel    of    our    committee, 

153-155 

Phantoms,  teleplastic.  SeeTel- 
eplastic  Phantoms. 

Phenomena,  classification  of, 
291-292 

Phenomena,  conditions  for  pro- 
duction of,  325-327 

Phenomena,  list  of,  75-77 

Phenomena,  progression  of.  See 
Progression. 

Phenomena,    theory    of,    313- 

Photographic     plate     incident, 

105 

Photography  and  hallucination, 
62 

Photography,  value  of,  as  evi- 
dence, 265,  266,  345-346 

Piper,  Mrs.,  I,  2,  5,  291 

Pod  more,  F.,  7,  g 


352 


Index 


Poltergeist  cases,  30 1 

Porro,    Professor,    72-74,    135, 

136-137,  268 
Prejudice,  question  of,  347-348 
Progression  of  phenomena,  321- 

322 
Psychic  force,  theory  of,  267 
Psychode,  theory  of,  267 
Psycho-dynamism,     theory    of, 

271 
Psychological  condition  of  medi- 
um, 31 1-314 
Psychological  condition   of  sit- 
ters, 310-31 1 

Rabagliati,  Dr.  A.,  296 
Radiations,  human,  269 
Radioactivity  of   the    medium, 

108,  319 
Ramorino,  Mme.,  283 
Reality  of  the  phenomena,  246 
Reflection,  theory  of,  277 
Reflex   action,   theory   of,   276, 

277 
Richer,   Prof.  Charles,  29,  32- 

33.   35»   38-50,    52»    130, 

131 

Ryan,  Mr.,  213,  214,  215,  217, 
229,  230,  232 

Sabatier,  Prof.,  57,  58 
Samona,  Dr.  Carmelo,  74-75 
Schiaparelli,  Professor,  29,  30- 

31 
Schmolz,  M.,  139 
Schrenck-Notzing,   Baron   von, 

35 
Seance  room,  158,  159 
Seances,  general  run  of,  310 


Searching  medium,  206 
Sensibility,    externalization    of. 

See  Externalization. 
Sidgwick,  Mrs.,  ^s,  40,  53,  250- 

258 
Sidgwick,  Professor,  33,  40,  53, 

337 
Siemiradski,  M.,  34 

Sitters,  psychological  condition 
of.  See  Psychological 
Condition. 

Smashed    table    incident,    106- 

Spirits,  evil.     See  Evil  Spirits. 
Spirits,  theory  of,  267-268 
Spiritualism,  growth  of,  7 
Subconsciousness,     theory     of, 

274 
Substitution  of  hands,  question 

of,  182-184,  188-189,  206- 

207,  244-266 
Sudeley,  Lord,  213 
Suggestibility,  question  of,  307- 

308 
Sully-Prudhomme,  M.,  61 

Tamburini,  Professor,  28,  29 
Telepathy,  question  of,  309 
Teleplastic     phantoms,     theory 

of,  278 
Theory   of    phenomena,    313- 

.318 
Third  arm,  theory  of,  71-72 
Trance,  nature  of,  333-334 
Trance,  question  of,  305,  307 
Transformation  of  forces,  267 

Unconscious,  the,  theory  of,  274, 

275 


Index 


3  S3 


Vassallo,  M.,  140-141,  142-143,  Wagner,  Professor,  33,  34 

144  Wallace,  Alfred  Russel,  267 

Venzano,  Dr.  Joseph,  134,  138-  Weight,  loss  of,  30-31 

139,    140,    145,    147,    151,  Writing,   independent,  45,    . 

283,  284  49 

Visani-Scozzi,    Dr.    Paolo,    ^3^ 

59  Yourievitch,  M.,  129,  131 
Vitality,  nature  of,  296-299 

Vizioli,  M.,  28  Zingaropoli,  M.,  233,  237 


Mme.  Palladino's  powerful  hands 


■m:T^,  ,'     '"^'^''^.'J^' ^  .A'V".' ' '  •-.  y — ',  ^..^ 


Flashlight    photograph   of    the    levitation   of    a    table    by    PalUuiino.       The    medium    is    concealed    by    the 
table,  but  a  hand  holding  her  knee  may  be  seen  ' 


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REC'D  YRl 


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EUSAPIA    PALLADINO  AND  HER  LEVITATING  TABLE 


This  famous  Italian  medium,  after  convincing  some  of  the  foremost  European  and 
American  scientists  that  she  possessed  supernatural  powers,  was  detected  in  a  com- 
mon fraud  at  a  recent  seance  in  New  York  City  and  h-r  pretensions  are  now  exposed. 


58  00529  1629 


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The  interio- 

musicu'    instri 
table  \    lich 


jo's  seances  showing  the 
•  out  tones  and  the  little 
sittinK-room 


UNIVli 


-  \  -    ■  ; 


ORKIA 


UBkARY 


iH;V:]:i;;ni, !:«:;>!! 


i'lllli 


